Fighting a War on Women’s Bodies: Sexual Violence in Sudan Reaches Unthinkable Levels

GEDAREF STATE, SUDAN – In the shadow of Sudan’s protracted conflict, a second war is being waged. It is not fought with guns alone but with violence that strikes the most intimate, vulnerable spaces of a person’s life.

“Sexual violence has become as widespread [a weapon] as guns and bullets,” said Khadija

a midwife at a maternity clinic in eastern Sudan, where the wounds of war show up in bloodied clothes and silent stares.

Women and girls fleeing violence arrive at Khadija’s clinic carrying trauma that cannot always be sutured.

“They are exhausted, displaced, traumatised. Some are heavily pregnant from rape, others are sick or emotionally broken. All are deeply wounded in ways that are hard to comprehend,” she said,

speaking to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which supports the clinic.

Now in its third year, the war in Sudan has turned women’s bodies into battlegrounds. Across conflict-affected areas, sexual violence is not random. It is deliberate. A tactic of war used to terrorise, displace and dominate. Over 12 million people, about a quarter of the population, are at risk of gender-based violence according to UNFPA, with survivors and frontline workers reporting widespread rape, coercion, abuse and a rise in child marriage.

“The scale and brutality of these violations are beyond anything we’ve previously seen,” said Dina*,

a gender-based violence specialist in Sudan. “We’ve documented rape cases involving adolescent girls, elderly women, even those with disabilities. Survivors are dealing with unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections and severe psychological trauma.”

Yet even these grim statistics likely fall short of reality. Many incidents go unreported due to shame, stigma, lack of services and the near-total impunity that surrounds perpetrators.

“It will take decades to recover from this,” Dina added. “Still, the survivors are pushing to be heard. They are fighting to live and to seek justice.”

A Crisis of Care

While the physical and emotional consequences are immense, the resources available to respond are shrinking. UNFPA supports 63 safe spaces across Sudan offering psychosocial support, medical referrals and emergency shelter for survivors. Many of these have already shut down due to funding cuts. Of the health facilities that provide clinical care for rape survivors, only one in four is currently functional.

This collapse in services is compounding the trauma for women and girls who endure treacherous journeys through conflict zones with limited or no access to healthcare. By the time they reach help, many are in the late stages of pregnancy or suffering from infections and deep emotional wounds.

“The violence we’re witnessing will echo through generations,” said Dina. “From children born out of sexual violence to mothers forced into pregnancies they did not choose, the social fabric of Sudan is unravelling. Communities are turning against survivors instead of supporting them.”

Stigma remains one of the largest barriers to healing. Survivors often fear rejection, violence or even death at the hands of their own families.

“Some women are too scared to speak up. They worry they’ll be killed if anyone finds out,” one UNFPA partner reported.

Dwindling Resources, Diminishing Hope

UNFPA and its partners are doing what they can, but the agency’s humanitarian appeal for Sudan is only one quarter funded. This shortfall has already led to UNFPA withdrawing from more than half of the 93 health facilities it once supported.

“At this point, it feels like this war is being fought on the bodies of women and girls,” said Huda*, a survivor of sexual violence who sought help at a UNFPA-supported facility. “What’s happening to us is more than most people could imagine. Many of us have lost hope.”

Dr Natalia Kanem, UNFPA’s Executive Director, has called on the global community to respond with urgency.

“The elimination of sexual violence in conflict cannot be an afterthought. It must be the first step towards peace – a world that is safe, just and equal for women and girls – and for everyone.”

As the international spotlight drifts from Sudan, the need for support grows more desperate. UNFPA is urging donors to fund survivor-centred services that offer not just healthcare but safety, dignity and a chance to break the cycle of violence.

Because when the war ends, the trauma will not. Without sustained support, the silence left in its wake will be deafening.

NB: Names have been changed to protect the identity of individuals.

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