ACJPS: ‘Sexual violence deployed as weapon of war in Sudan’
Displaced women and children in Darfur (Archive photo: Albert González Farran / UNAMID)
A recent report by the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) reveals the horrifying use of sexual violence as a weapon in Sudan’s ongoing conflict. The report, published yesterday, details widespread abuse by both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with victims subjected to rape, gang rape, forced prostitution, and abductions for sexual purposes.
The report states, “Girls as young as nine through to women aged 75 have been subjected to widespread sexual violence, including rape and gang rape by the conflicting parties.”
“In the Darfur region, most of the sexual violence cases have been attributed to the RSF and its allied militia,” the report highlights.
“The victims are often seized from their homes, streets, and places of work and, in some instances, detained or confined in their homes and other facilities occupied by the perpetrators in conditions that amount to sexual slavery,” the report adds.
The ACJPS is calling for urgent action. “It is imperative that Sudanese authorities strongly and openly condemn these acts and bring perpetrators to book because non-prosecution has only encouraged impunity,” the report urges.
Read the full report here: WAR TIME SEXUAL VIOLENCE, A TACTIC IN THE SUDAN ARMED CONFLICT
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