Risks of sexual exploitation, trafficking on the rise in Sudan: UNFPA
November 29, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – Risk of sexual exploitation and trafficking in Sudan has increased due to low operating capacity of public services and economic hardships, a report shows.
A gender-based violence (GBV) responders report from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reveals a significant and long-lasting impacts of GBV on physical and mental health – including injury, unintended pregnancy and pregnancy complications, sexually transmitted infections including HIV, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and death in war-torn Sudan.
The GBV Sub-Sector Sudan conducted a trends analysis based on field visits and communication with GBV Sub-Sector Sudan members. Despite efforts in the country to provide training, services, and commodities, including an emphasis on support to women-led and women’s rights organizations and the system-wide scale up, a number of concerning trends were also uncovered.
Also highlighted is the continued deterioration of security situation, particularly in Darfur, with fears of looting and closures of recently opened spaces and stoppage of recently resumed activities.
“The situation in Sudan continues to be incredibly fluid, with the situation particularly in Darfur states deteriorating rapidly since early November, forcing many to flee to Chad,” it states in part.
According to the report, despite some partners resuming activities since September, many partners report the need to close programming in the face of looted or destroyed offices and response spaces, including Women and Girls Safe Spaces (WGSS), confidential corners, and hospitals.
Sudan has experienced a concerning rise in sexual and gender-based violence since the onset of war between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in mid-April.
To tackle the problem, the GBV Sub-Sector Sudan advocates for multi-sectorial response so that other basic and lifesaving needs, such as food and safe shelter, are adequately met. Furthermore, the GBV Sub-Sector is considering adding other sectors services in emergency service mapping to be able to provide women and girls with holistic information about the services they can access.
“This has increased the risk of harm to women and girls, with women and girls reporting attacks from host communities for using local resources like wood or water; host communities do not consider that IDPs have a right to these resources,” stressed the report.
The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS), in a report, reveals a pattern of harmful actions targeting Sudanese people based on gender, with women’s organisations documenting over 120 verified cases of rape as of October 2023, and fears that the actual number may be higher.
Sudan’s history of conflict sees various armed factions, including the RSF, SAF and militia groups, using SGBV as a weapon of war to intimidate local populations and control resource-rich areas.
More than four million women and girls in Sudan are at risk of sexual violence, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The Women’s Future Organisation recorded 103 incidents of rape in South and West Darfur as of August 2023, according to the report issued by the ACJPS.
Meanwhile the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office in Sudan said it received credible reports of more than 50 incidents of sexual violence linked to hostilities by November 2, impacting at least 105 victims, with 70 per cent of confirmed incidents attributed to men in RSF uniforms.
(ST)