Women’s rights group condemns sexual violence in Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan

The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA), a regional women’s rights group, has condemned the rampant sexual violence perpetrated by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against civilian women and girls in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum.

In a statement released Monday, SIHA said that “women are not collateral damage” and that “perpetrators must be held accountable for their brutal crimes.”

SIHA said that it has received reports of over 10 cases of sexual violence in a single day at one emergency room in Khartoum. However, it said that many women and girls are too scared to report or too young to understand what has been done to them.

The regional group said that sexual violence has been ingrained into the fabric of women’s daily lives in Khartoum, with one woman reporting that she has been raped “countless” times.

The statement also reported that the paramilitary group has been targeting women volunteers on the frontlines of the humanitarian response. Last week, two volunteers were raped, and on October 2nd, one volunteer was murdered in her home by RSF soldiers because she refused them access to her residential property.

The group said that the dire situation has been aggravated by the closure and destruction of hospitals and medical facilities, some of which have been repurposed as military compounds. This has severely limited access to medical treatment and post-rape kits for survivors.

SIHA called on international and regional actors and friends of Sudan to advocate and exert pressure to secure safe spaces where survivors of sexual violence can receive essential medical services, including rape kits, PEP kits, and other necessary care, without the risk of exposure to RSF reprisal.

The group also called on international and regional actors and friends of Sudan to fund medical supplies, including rape kits, PEP kits, and relevant medications.

Additionally, SIHA urged the provision of resources for women right’s organisations (WROs) and women’s rights defenders (WRDs) to enable them to support survivors’ immediate relocation to areas within Sudan where they will receive adequate sexual and reproductive health services and psychosocial support.

SIHA’s statement comes as the United Nations Security Council is due to meet on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing conflict in Sudan. The council is expected to consider a draft resolution that would call for an end to the violence and for the perpetrators of sexual violence to be held accountable.