Medical Professionals Unbound Reveal Alarming Findings from Sudan
Sexual Violence Widespread Amidst Civil War in Sudan
In the ongoing conflict in Sudan, particularly in the Darfur region, sexual violence against women and girls is rampant. According to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), these crimes are frequently used as a weapon of war, making it challenging for women to evade attacks, even with precautions in place.
Claire San Filippo, MSF's emergency coordinator, stated that women and girls cannot find safety anywhere, as they are attacked in their homes, while fleeing violence, collecting firewood, or working in the fields. In the Darfur region, sexual violence is so pervasive that it's increasingly considered inevitable, San Filippo added.
The Sudanese civil war, fought between government troops led by Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF militia, has displaced around 12.4 million people within the country or forced them to seek refuge in neighboring nations since April 2023.
Backed by human rights organizations and the UN, previous accusations against the RSF militia involve massive sexual assaults. However, the true scale of the violence remains challenging to quantify due to limited services and social stigma surrounding the issue in conservative Sudanese society.
MSF treated a total of 659 survivors of sexual violence in the South Darfur region between January 2024 and March 2025. This testimony highlights the frightening extent of suffering encountered by these victims. A 17-year-old survivor reported being assaulted by seven RSF fighters while fleeing fighting, while a 25-year-old woman lost her 13-year-old niece to a gang rape.
Eyewitnesses testified that rape incidents were rare to non-existent days when women from refugee camps visited markets. However, even going in groups for protection ultimately offered no guaranteed safety.
Sources: ntv.de, toh/dpa
- Sudan
- Civil Wars
- Doctors Without Borders
- Sexual Abuse
Integrating Enrichment Data:
- The violence experienced by survivors is particularly brutal, with more than half reporting additional physical violence during assaults.
- Alarmingly, a significant number of minors are affected, with more than one-third of survivors being under 18 years old.
- The perpetrators of the attacks are often members of military, police, or security forces, or non-state armed groups. This underscores the urgent need for action to halt these assaults and provide medical and psychological care to survivors.
- The Commission, in light of the ongoing civil war in Sudan, has also been asked to submit a proposal for a directive on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to ionizing radiation in war-and-conflicts, given the potential use of radiological materials in armed conflicts.
- In the general-news, science plays a crucial role in understanding the health-and-wellness implications of these violent acts on the survivors, particularly in addressing the physical and psychological consequences of sexual abuse.
- As politics continues to unfold in Sudan, addressing the issue of sexual violence is not just a matter of human rights, but also a pressing concern for the health-and-wellness and general-news of the nation.
