Rape is being used as a weapon of war in Sudan

Halima (name changed) has lived in various camps for displaced people for as long as she can remember. Every time she thought she had found safety, another attack happened, displacing her over and over.

She told DW that the memories of being upended so frequently keep her up at night.

In June 2023, fighters belonging to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked the area of El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, where she lived with her family.

Halima heard the militants arrive on their motorbikes. "They found me in my room," she said. "Four of them threatened me with guns. One choked my neck and raped me."

She suffered multiple wounds but eventually managed to escape, crossing the border into Chad. She felt safe there — but could not find the medical help she needed so badly after her ordeal.

Many women and children in camps in Chad have spoken of the issue, as reports of sexual violence within camps have also been on the rise.

Gender-based violence along ethnic lines

The majority of people who have fled across the border from war-torn Sudan are now in camps in eastern Chad — in places such as Adre. 

Halima is one of them. She believes that the RSF militia mainly raped her because she belongs to the Massalit ethic group; the Massalit were the majority population in the city of El Geneina — until the RSF brutally attacked its citizens last year. 

Another young woman at the camp, Hadija (name changed), corroborates Halima's impression.

She remembers how her attacker asked about the tribe she belonged to. "I did not tell him I was Massalit," she told DW. "I said I belong to the Fur tribe."

He threatened to kill her if she was Massalit, adding that the Massalit would never own any land in Sudan in future.

Hawa (name changed) survived a similar attack in June 2023. 

She told DW that an RSF fighter entered her home and shot her 20-year-old cousin. Then she heard how her mother and aunt were being beaten.

"He beat me, too, with a whip, a stick, a water container," she said. "He then threw me on the bed and raped me."

It was only days later that she was able to finally find a hospital; she needed stitches after the attack and still feels pain when she walks.

These survivors' stories are backed up by Human Rights Watch, which has documented numerous atrocities of a similar nature, warning of a potential genocide unfolding against the Massalit people in West Darfur.

The RSF did not respond to DW's requests for comment.

The world's largest displacement crisis

In a report on gender-based violence published at the end of 2023, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported that women and girls in Sudan had to bear the brunt of the consequences of the conflict there, including an "alarming" rise in levels of sexual violence.

Many of those seeking asylum elsewhere say they have experienced or witnessed harassment, abduction, rape, sexual assault, sexual exploitation and other forms of violence during their journeys to safety.

For over a year, the Sudanese Armed Forces have been fighting the RSF in a brutal battle for control of the country.

The conflict has forced millions of people to flee their homes since April 2023, pushing the number of displaced people to about 12 million by June 2024.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) reports that more than 2 million people have sought refuge in neighboring countries since the eruption of the conflict. But the vast majority of them — over 10 million people — remain within Sudan, representing the largest displacement crisis in the world.

Aid organizations highlight that there are massive funding shortages to address the unfolding situation in Sudan and throughout the region.

Increased rates of rape

Abdirahman Ali, the country director for Sudan at CARE International, has confirmed this fast increasing rate of gender-based violence reported across Sudan, particularly in the areas that are currently witnessing the most violence, such as Darfur, Khartoum, Al Jazirah State and other areas.

Ali told DW that, especially in refugee camps, the violence against women and girls continues, adding that the situation is only being exacerbated by difficulties in the delivery of emergency food assistance, clean water, health care and nutrition.

The biggest challenge, he said, is moving health and nutrition supplies across the border from Chad into Sudan for people who are internally displaced.

"There are many areas [where] we are unable to access or even provide assistance due to the ongoing conflict and restrictions that will not allow us as aid workers to reach the people in need," he said.

According to the IRC, 90% of the people crossing borders in the region in search of safety are women and children. One in five young children are experiencing acute malnutrition.

Psychological support for people affected by gender-based violence is also hard to come by, Ali said: "There are multiple displacements. Communities and internationally displaced persons are moving from one location to the other, complicating [efforts] to provide continuous support to this population." 

Escape to Chad — and beyond

Before the conflict began, Sudan was already experiencing a severe humanitarian crisis caused by long-term political instability and economic pressures in the country.

The war has only added to these conditions, leaving almost 25 million people — more than half of Sudan's population — in need, according to the IRC.

More than 600,000 people have crossed the border into Chad, which had already been hosting 400,000 Sudanese refugees prior to the outbreak of conflict. 

This is why the IRC has also expanded critical services to support Sudanese refugees in neighboring  countries beyond Chad, including Uganda, Ethiopia and South Sudan. 

Human rights obligations ignored

Ali demands that the parties involved in the conflict uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilian populations and infrastructure.

In order for the human rights situation to improve, he said, the aid workers providing assistance would also need to be granted safeguards.

"There is a need for the parties of conflict to go to the negotiation table and ensure that this crisis is brought to a halt," he said. "It is causing untold human suffering to the people of Sudan."

Despite the trauma, Hawa and Halima both hope to return to their previous lives; Hawa dreams of completing her studies in economics to work "as an accountant or as a business administrator."

Halima also wants to get her old life back. "If the situation improves, I want to go to university," she said. "I'm a midwife — but I want to become a doctor." 

Edited by: Sertan Sanderson