top UN officials are raising the alarm about the increase in violence against women and girls

Senior United Nations officials today expressed shock and condemnation at the growing number of reports of gender-based violence in Sudan – including conflict-related sexual violence against internally displaced and refugee women and girls – since fighting broke out in the country more than 11 weeks ago.

They called for an immediate end to gender-based violence, including sexual violence as a war tactic to terrorize people; for prompt, thorough, impartial and independent investigations of all alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights and serious violations of international humanitarian law; and that the perpetrators are held accountable. They stressed that all parties must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law and human rights law to protect civilians, including women and girls, including by allowing safe passage for survivors to access health care and for health workers to reach health facilities.

Heads of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the UN Office for Human Rights, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) , UN Women and the World Health Organization (WHO) also emphasized the need to rapidly increase the number of services to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in Sudan, as well as in neighboring countries, where those fleeing violence have sought safety as refugees, in order to met increasing needs.

Even before fighting broke out on April 15, the UN estimated that more than 3 million women and girls in Sudan were at risk of gender-based violence, including intimate partner violence. That number has since risen to an estimated 4.2 million people.

Since the beginning of this conflict, the UN Office for Human Rights in Sudan has received credible reports of 21 incidents of conflict-related sexual violence against at least 57 women and girls. Among the victims are at least 10 girls. In one case, as many as 20 women were allegedly raped in the same attack.

The Unit for Combating Violence Against Women at the Sudanese Ministry of Social Development also continues to receive reports of conflict-related sexual violence. It has documented at least 42 alleged cases in the capital Khartoum and 46 in the Darfur region.

Given the significant under-reporting of gender-based violence, the actual number of cases is undoubtedly far higher. Many survivors find it difficult to report sexual violence due to shame, stigma and fear of retaliation. Reporting violations and getting support is also made difficult, if not impossible, by the lack of electricity and connectivity, as well as the lack of humanitarian access due to the volatile security situation. Attacks and occupation of health facilities also prevent survivors from seeking and receiving emergency health care.

However, health care providers, social workers, counselors and protection networks inside Sudan have warned of a significant increase in reports of gender-based violence as hostilities continue across the country. Women, including refugees who lived in pre-conflict Sudan, reported cases of gender-based violence when they fled Khartoum to other areas. Women fleeing across the Sudanese border told UNHCR and UN human rights teams in neighboring countries about the horrific violence they faced.

The risk of sexual violence is especially high when women and girls are on the move looking for safer places. There is an urgent need to increase assistance at reception sites for internally displaced persons in conflict-affected areas in Sudan, as well as in neighboring countries.

Despite the violence, UN agencies are working to reach survivors. UNFPA provides gender-based violence case management and critical sexual and reproductive care, including rape clinical treatment. The organization also supports safe spaces for women and girls, distributing dignity kits, training service providers and expanding remote services where physical access is disrupted. WHO is working with UNFPA and other health partners to ensure faster access to emergency medical supplies. As part of its broader protection interventions, UNHCR provides services to survivors, including medical and psychosocial support, while UNICEF works on rape kits, risk mitigation, women’s and girls’ participation, and prevention and response interventions.

For survivors of sexual violence, timely access to health services is life-saving. In Sudan, activists highlighted the need for more drugs, medical supplies, dignity kits and post-exposure prophylaxis kits to prevent HIV transmission for clinical treatment of rape. These items must also reach local clinics, community organizations and key emergency services when survivors cannot access health facilities.

Extensive assistance to women and girls requires generous donor support. The revised Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan calls for US$63 million to fund prevention and response services for survivors of gender-based violence in Sudan, with the goal of reaching 1.3 million people. Funding needs for protection programs, including prevention of gender-based violence and response for those who have fled Sudan to neighboring countries, amount to nearly $63 million in the complementary Regional Refugee Response Plan.

Citation sheet:

Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Response Coordinator (OCHA): “It is unconscionable that Sudanese women and children – whose lives have been turned upside down by this senseless conflict – are further traumatized in this way. What we are witnessing in Sudan is not just a humanitarian crisis; it is a crisis of humanity.”

Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “We receive shocking reports of sexual violence against women and girls, including rape. And after such cruelty and brutality, women and girls are left with little or no medical and psychosocial support. There must be zero tolerance for sexual violence. All perpetrators must be held accountable.”