UNICEF: 221 children raped in Sudan war ‘should shock anyone to their core and compel immediate action’

“Armed men are raping and sexually assaulting children, including infants as young as one, amid the nationwide conflict rippling across Sudan,” the UN agency for children, UNICEF, says today, in a new report documenting harrowing numbers of Sudanese children subjected to rape and sexual assault since the beginning of last year.

Based on data compiled by gender-based violence service providers in Sudan, the report, entitled Sudan’s child rape and sexual violence crisis, paints a searing picture, stating that 221 rape cases against children were recorded since the beginning of 2024.

With the caveat that the sample size of the data is not extensive, UNICEF asserts that “the data provides a helpful glimpse into the significant risks facing women and children. It also illustrates the critical need for additional investment in survivor-centred response services and safe, ethical systems for protecting survivor data.”

‘Millions of children in Sudan are at risk of rape and other forms of sexual violence, which is being used as a tactic of war. This is an abhorrent violation of international law and could constitute a war crime. It must stop…’ – UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell

During December 2024 and January 2025, UNICEF says it documented dozens of first-hand accounts of gender-based violence, including cases involving child sexual violence survivors perpetrated during invasions of cities, while fleeing danger and while being held by armed men.

The agency acknowledges that “these figures represent only a small fraction of total cases,” and points out that survivors and their families are often unwilling or unable to come forward due to challenges accessing services, and frontline workers, fear of the stigma they could face, the fear of rejection from their family or community, the fear of retribution from armed groups or fear of confidentiality breaches.

‘Children as young as one being raped by armed men should shock anyone to their core and compel immediate action…’ – UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell

“Children as young as one being raped by armed men should shock anyone to their core and compel immediate action,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Millions of children in Sudan are at risk of rape and other forms of sexual violence, which is being used as a tactic of war. This is an abhorrent violation of international law and could constitute a war crime. It must stop.”

Of the reported 221 child rape survivors, 147 children, or 66 per cent, are girls. That 33 per cent of the survivors are boys is also notable as they too may face stigma and unique challenges in reporting, seeking help, and accessing services, UNICEF suggests. “Shockingly, there are 16 survivors under five years of age, including four one-year olds. The cases were reported in nine states in Sudan, from south to north and east to west. There were an additional 77 reported cases of sexual assault against children, primarily attempted rape cases,” UNICEF says.

‘Shockingly, there are 16 survivors under five years of age, including four one-year olds…’ – UNICEF

The brutal reality of this violence, and the fear of falling victim to it, are pushing women and girls to leave their homes and families and flee to other cities where they often end up in informal displacement sites or communities with scarce resources. The risk of sexual violence is also high within these communities, especially against children who have been internally displaced.

While the immense impact of sexual violence on survivors is often hidden, it can have an inordinate and lasting negative legacy including significant psychological trauma, forced isolation or family rejection due to social stigma, pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, serious injury and other complications.

UNICEF is working in partnership to establish safe spaces that provide gender-based violence services for survivors, as well as integrating these into health services at health centres and mobile clinics and providing relevant medical supplies. UNICEF is also building the capacity of frontline workers including social workers, psychologists and medical professionals and deploying them to locations across Sudan to provide community-based services, including mental health and psychosocial support and referral services. Work is also being undertaken within communities to address harmful social norms and practices.

“Widespread sexual violence in Sudan has instilled terror in people, especially children,” said Russell. “The parties to the conflict, and those with influence on them, must make every effort to put an end to these grave violations against children. These scars of war are immeasurable and long-lasting.”

UNICEF continues to demand that the government of Sudan and all parties must respect their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law to protect civilians, especially children. Gender-based violence, including sexual violence as a tactic of war, must end immediately. Essential services infrastructure and service providers must be protected so their lifesaving work can continue. Humanitarian workers must be able to safely deliver lifesaving aid and services and families must be able to safely access the support they need. Safe and ethical data systems must be a priority, both to help strengthen the humanitarian response and as part of broader efforts to hold perpetrators accountable. In decision-making on funding, GBV programmes must be treated by donors as lifesaving. Time is running out to prevent Sudan’s sexual violence crisis from continuing to expand, impact children and have an inordinate and lasting negative legacy, UNICEF concludes.