UN raises concerns over widespread sexual violence in Sudan conflict

Sexual assault against children is being used as a weapon of war, Unicef says

A 16-year-old rape victim rests on a mattress at a Unicef office in Sudan. Unicef via AP

Children as young as one year old have been sexually assaulted by armed men fighting in Sudan's civil war, with the UN children's agency reporting that sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war.

Unicef said 221 children, both boys and girls, have been raped since the beginning of last year, according to information compiled by service providers for survivors of gender-based violence in Sudan. Another 77 children were victims of attempted rape or other forms of sexual violence.

In a report released on Monday, the UN agency said the attacks involved armed men breaking into homes and ordering families to hand over their children, before assaulting girls in front of their family.

Victims suffered serious injuries including fractures, abscesses and other complications, Unicef said. "No person, no child, should have to endure these horrors," the report added.

Sudan has been locked in a civil war since April 2023, with the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces battling for power in a conflict that has created what the UN calls the world's largest humanitarian catastrophe.

The war has killed tens of thousands, forced more than 12 million people to flee their homes and left about 26 million – more than half the population – facing acute hunger, with pockets of famine surfacing.

A Sudanese woman who fled fighting in Murnei in Sudan's Darfur region crosses the border with Chad. Reuters

The Unicef report did not identify either the Sudanese army or the RSF as the perpetrators of sexual violence. Human rights groups say atrocities have been committed by both sides.

The UN agency said the sexual assault of children was far more widespread than the cases documented. About 66 per cent of survivors were girls and the remainder boys. Cases were reported in nine of Sudan's 18 states.

"These figures provide only a partial picture of the true magnitude of violence inflicted against children," Unicef said.

Victims are often unwilling to report sexual violence due to stigma, fear of retribution from armed groups or being ostracised by family, it added.

Unicef executive director Catherine Russell said such behaviour by armed fighters should "shock anyone to their core and compel immediate action".

"Millions of children in Sudan are at risk of rape and other forms of sexual violence, which is being used as a tactic of war," she added. "This is an abhorrent violation of international law and could constitute a war crime. It must stop."

One adult woman told Unicef she was held by armed men for 19 days in a room with other women and girls.

"After nine at night, someone opens the door, carrying a whip, selects one of the girls, and takes her to another room. I could hear the little girl crying and screaming. They were raping her," she said.

"Every time they raped her, this girl would come back covered in blood ... They only release these girls at dawn, and they return almost unconscious."

Unicef urged all parties in the conflict to protect civilians, especially children, in line with their obligations under international law.

“Widespread sexual violence in Sudan has instilled terror in people, especially children,” Ms Russell said. “These scars of war are immeasurable and long-lasting."

Many women and girls have been pushed to leave their homes and flee to other cities due to the fear of sexual violence, Unicef said. They often end up in displacement camps or communities with scarce resources where the risk of sexual violence is also high.

One mother said her two teenage girls were kidnapped and held in captivity, subjected to rape by armed men. “I tried with all my might to find my daughters, crying until I became seriously ill from the grief," she said.

"They beat my older daughter so badly that she vomited blood. They wouldn’t feed them, and they would force them to work 24 hours a day, cleaning, ironing and more.”

The girls eventually escaped and fled to another city, where one was taken to hospital for internal injuries and both were found to be pregnant, they told Unicef.

"I hope no girl in Sudan will have to endure what I went through,” one of the daughters said.