MSF warns of rising sexual violence in Darfur, urges urgent protection, medical support

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has raised alarm over the escalating and widespread sexual violence in Sudan’s Darfur region, warning that the scale of suffering—affecting women, girls, men, and boys—is beyond comprehension.

Data from MSF Sudan shows that the organisation responded to 659 survivors of sexual violence in South Darfur between January 2024 and March 2025.

According to the humanitarian organisation, 86 per cent of the total reported victims reported to have been raped.

The disturbing statistics, though likely to be an underestimation of the true scale of sexual violence in South Darfur, point to an escalating sexual violence crisis in the region, affecting mostly women and girls, who accounted for 94 per cent of the survivors.

The data further shows that 56 per cent were assaulted by a non-civilian (by a member of military, police or other security forces or non-state armed groups).

Another 55 per cent reported additional physical violence during the assault, while 34 per cent of others faced sexual violence while working in, or travelling to, the fields.

Assault cases ages

Of the total number of assault cases, 31 per cent were aged below 18 years, 29 per cent were adolescents (aged between 10 and 19), seven per cent were younger than 10 years old and 2.6 per cent were younger than five years old.

Sexual violence has become so widespread in Darfur that many people chillingly speak about it as unavoidable.

"Some people came at night to rape the women and take everything, including animals. I heard some women being raped at night. The men were hiding in toilets or in some rooms they could close, like my husband and brothers, otherwise they would get killed. The women didn't hide because it was just beating and rape for us, but the men would get killed," a 27-year-old woman told MSF's team in West Darfur.

Claire San Filippo, MSF emergency coordinator, notes that Women and girls do not feel safe anywhere.

"They are attacked in their own homes, when fleeing violence, getting food, collecting firewood, working in the fields. They tell us they feel trapped," she notes.

Several of these attacks have also been reported to have involved more than one perpetrator.

"This must stop. Sexual violence is not a natural or inevitable consequence of war, it can constitute a war crime, a form of torture, and a crime against humanity. The warring parties must hold their fighters accountable and protect people from this sickening violence. Services for survivors must immediately be scaled up, so survivors have access to the medical treatment and psychological care they desperately need," she implored.

The attacks are not only taking place in villages and towns but also at their homes.

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• MSF warns of rising sexual violence in Darfur
• urges urgent protection

Risking to survive

"Limited humanitarian assistance is forcing people to take risks to survive, people are walking long distances to meet their basic needs and taking work in dangerous places. Others decide against taking the risk but are then cut off from their sources of income, further reducing their access to water, food and healthcare. This is no guarantee of safety, with people attacked at home as well," the organisation said.

The situation is reflected in Chad, where 11 out of 24 survivors treated between January and March 2025 were attacked by multiple assailants.

"When we arrived in Kulbus, we saw a group of three women with some RSF [Rapid Support Forces] men guarding them. The RSF also ordered us to stay with them. They told us, 'You are the wives of the Sudanese army or their girls.' ... Then they beat us, and they raped us right there on the road, in public. There were nine RSF men. Seven of them raped me. I wanted to lose my memory after that," one 17-year-old rape survivor told MSF.

Eastern Chad is currently hosting over 800,000 Sudanese refugees.

In Adre, almost half of the 44 survivors treated by MSF since January 2025 were children.

In Wadi Fira Province, 94 survivors were treated between January and March 2025, 81 under the age of 18.

Services for survivors lacking

Ruth Kauffman, the MSF emergency medical manager, said access to services for survivors of sexual violence is lacking and, like most humanitarian and healthcare services in Sudan, must urgently be scaled up.

"People, mostly women and girls, who suffer sexual violence urgently need medical care, including psychological support, and protection services. Care must be tailored from the outset to mitigate against the many overwhelming barriers survivors face when seeking medical care in the aftermath of sexual violence," she said.

MSF says these brutal attacks and rapes must stop, warring parties must ensure that civilians are protected, respecting their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians, and medical and humanitarian services for survivors of sexual violence must be scaled up urgently in Darfur and eastern Chad.