Tawila, North Darfur – Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has issued a stark warning over the alarming surge in sexual violence in Sudan’s Darfur region, describing the scale of suffering—affecting women, girls, boys, and men—as “beyond comprehension.”
Between January 2024 and March 2025, MSF responded to 659 survivors of sexual violence in South Darfur, with 86% of those victims reporting rape. Disturbingly, 94% of survivors were women and girls, and 31% were under the age of 18.
The organization reports that over half (56%) of the assaults were carried out by armed actors—military personnel, police, or members of non-state armed groups. In 55% of cases, victims were also physically assaulted. 34% of the assaults happened while victims were working in or traveling to agricultural fields.
“Some people came at night to rape the women and take everything, including animals… Men were hiding to avoid being killed. Women were not hiding, because for us, it was ‘just’ beating and rape,” – a 27-year-old woman in West Darfur told MSF.
Claire San Filippo, MSF’s Emergency Coordinator, stressed that women and girls feel unsafe everywhere, including their homes, in transit, or while performing basic survival tasks like collecting food or firewood.
“This must stop. Sexual violence is not a natural consequence of war—it’s a crime. It can be a war crime, a form of torture, or a crime against humanity,” San Filippo stated.
“The warring parties must hold perpetrators accountable, and essential services for survivors must be scaled up immediately.”
The crisis extends beyond Sudan’s borders. In eastern Chad, where over 800,000 Sudanese refugees have fled, MSF treated:
- 44 survivors in Adré since January 2025—nearly half were children.
- 94 survivors in Wadi Fira Province, 81 of them under 18.
- In Kulbus, survivors described being gang raped by RSF fighters, some in public view.
A 17-year-old survivor recalled: “They beat us and raped us on the road, in public. There were nine RSF men. Seven of them raped me. I wanted to lose my memory after that.”
According to Ruth Kauffman, MSF’s Emergency Medical Manager, medical and psychological support for survivors is woefully inadequate across Sudan and Chad.
“Women and girls urgently need medical care, counseling, and protection services. But too many barriers—from stigma to insecurity—prevent access to help,” she said.
MSF is urgently calling for:
- An immediate halt to sexual violence
- Accountability from warring parties
- Respect for international humanitarian law
- Rapid expansion of survivor services in Darfur and eastern Chad
For now, countless survivors remain trapped—without safety, support, or justice.
“People are forced to choose between starvation and assault. Some go out to survive and get raped. Others stay behind and lose everything,” MSF said in its closing remarks.