By Lara Kajs
Dispatches from the Field—The Genocide Report
Washington, DC—2 June 2025
Sexual violence has emerged as a central feature of Sudan’s ongoing conflict, reflecting broader patterns of civilian targeting, ethnic violence, and institutional collapse. Since the outbreak of hostilities in April 2023, reports of widespread sexual and gender-based violence have underscored both the strategic use of such abuses by armed actors and the limitations of existing protection mechanisms. This analysis examines the scale, drivers, and implications of sexual violence in Sudan, with a focus on accountability, civilian protection, and the role of international response frameworks.
Sexual violence in Sudan’s war is not incidental—it is a method of warfare that exploits impunity and targets the social fabric of communities.”
Sexual Violence as a Tactic of War
Since April 2023, sexual violence against women and girls in Sudan has escalated into one of the most pervasive dimensions of the conflict. Both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been implicated in widespread patterns of sexual and gender-based violence, including rape, gang rape, forced marriage, abduction, and trafficking.
These acts are not isolated incidents. Available reporting indicates that sexual violence is frequently deployed to terrorize civilian populations, assert territorial control, and fracture community structures. In this context, such conduct constitutes serious violations of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In Darfur, where legacies of ethnic violence remain deeply embedded, reports indicate that RSF-aligned forces have carried out large-scale sexual violence, often with apparent ethnic targeting. Survivor accounts, including those involving children, describe assaults conducted in public or in the presence of family members, reinforcing the coercive and demonstrative function of these acts.
Documented Patterns and Humanitarian Impact
Humanitarian organizations have recorded significant levels of abuse. Médecins Sans Frontières reported treating hundreds of survivors of sexual violence in South Darfur in early 2025, the majority involving rape. Incidents frequently occur in homes, during displacement, or while individuals seek food, water, or livelihoods.
The expansion of armed group control over displacement sites has further heightened risk. The seizure of camps such as Zamzam has been associated with increased reports of rape, abduction, and disappearance, illustrating how shifts in territorial control directly affect civilian vulnerability.
Sexual violence has also been documented in Khartoum and other regions, with both SAF and RSF forces implicated. Reporting from United Nations bodies and humanitarian organizations indicates that these patterns are geographically widespread and not confined to a single theater of conflict.
Structural Drivers and Barriers to Response
The broader humanitarian crisis in Sudan has intensified both exposure to violence and barriers to protection. Mass displacement, the collapse of governance structures, and the erosion of law enforcement mechanisms have created conditions in which abuse occurs with limited risk of accountability.
Displacement environments remain particularly insecure. Overcrowded camps and informal settlements lack adequate protection systems, while economic collapse has increased reliance on high-risk coping strategies. Women and girls face heightened exposure to forced marriage, exploitation, and trafficking, particularly along migration routes and border areas.
Access to healthcare has deteriorated sharply. Survivors encounter significant barriers to medical and psychological support, including the absence of post-rape care, emergency contraception, and trauma services. These gaps compound both immediate and long-term harm.
Stigma and fear of retaliation further suppress reporting. Social exclusion, victim-blaming, and the absence of legal recourse leave many survivors without access to justice or support, reinforcing cycles of silence and impunity.
Local Response and International Engagement
Sudanese women’s organizations remain central to response efforts. Networks such as the Peace for Sudan Platform, supported by UN Women, coordinate protection services, psychosocial support, and advocacy initiatives across affected communities.
These organizations operate under severe constraints, including insecurity, limited funding, and political marginalization. Despite these challenges, they play a critical role in documenting abuses and sustaining survivor-centered responses. Their work underscores the importance of locally driven interventions in crisis settings.
International actors, including UNICEF and the World Health Organization, continue to provide emergency health services and support mechanisms. However, ongoing violence, attacks on healthcare infrastructure, and restricted humanitarian access significantly limit the scale and effectiveness of these interventions.
At the same time, Sudanese women remain largely excluded from formal peace negotiations. This exclusion weakens both the inclusivity and long-term viability of conflict resolution efforts, particularly in addressing gender-specific harms.
Accountability and Policy Implications
The scale and systematic nature of sexual violence in Sudan require sustained international engagement. Strengthening accountability mechanisms is essential to ensuring that perpetrators are identified and prosecuted, particularly where violations may rise to the level of international crimes.
Policy responses must prioritize civilian protection, expand humanitarian access, and integrate gender-responsive approaches into peacebuilding and diplomatic processes. This includes increased support for survivor services, sustained funding for local organizations, and the incorporation of accountability measures into international engagement strategies.
Sexual violence in Sudan is not a peripheral consequence of conflict; it is embedded in its conduct. Addressing these violations is therefore central to any credible effort to advance justice, stability, and long-term peace.
Photo credit: Chad Edtech Solutions Sudanese Refugees by Global Partnership for Education – GPE. Licensed under CC BY NC ND 2.0
Local parent Nour Haroun Babakar speaks during an interview at Djabal refugee camp, Eastern Chad. Nour and her family fled Sudan during the war in Darfur, and the recent uptick in violence in the region means that families such as hers remain in a state of uncertainty for the near future.
Atrocity Prevention Lens
Widespread and systematic sexual violence is a recognized indicator of escalating atrocity risk. In Sudan, patterns of abuse—particularly when combined with ethnic targeting, displacement, and institutional collapse—signal heightened vulnerability for civilian populations. Analysts in atrocity prevention identify such dynamics as warning signs requiring urgent intervention. Strengthening monitoring mechanisms, supporting local protection networks, and reinforcing accountability pathways are essential to mitigating further harm.
Legal Framework
International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Conventions
Sexual violence in armed conflict is explicitly prohibited under international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols. These frameworks require the protection of civilians and prohibit acts that violate personal dignity, including rape, sexual violence, and other forms of inhumane treatment.
War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity under the Rome Statute
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court classifies rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, and other forms of sexual violence as war crimes. When committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population, these acts may also constitute crimes against humanity, triggering international criminal accountability.
International Human Rights Law and CEDAW
International human rights law protects the rights to bodily integrity, security, and dignity. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) reinforces state obligations to prevent, investigate, and respond to gender-based violence, including in conflict settings.
Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
The Responsibility to Protect framework establishes that states have an obligation to prevent mass atrocity crimes, including those involving systematic sexual violence. Where states are unable or unwilling to fulfill this responsibility, the international community may take collective action to protect civilian populations and support accountability efforts.
About TGR
The Genocide Report (TGR) publishes analysis and educational resources on conflict, international law, and atrocity prevention. Its work seeks to bridge academic research, field realities, and public understanding of mass violence and civilian protection.
About the Author
Lara Kajs is the founder and executive director of The Genocide Report, a Washington, DC-based educational nonprofit focused on atrocity prevention and international law. She is the author of several field-based books on conflict, displacement, humanitarian crises, and international humanitarian law, drawing on extensive research and field experience in Yemen, Syria, and Afghanistan. Her writing and public speaking focus on atrocity crimes, forced displacement, the protection of civilians, and the legal frameworks governing armed conflict.