PUBLICATIONS #sexual violence

The African Center for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) continues to amplify the voices of women and girls in Sudan by documenting their experiences/stories of sexual violence perpetrated by the warring parties in Sudan. We call upon the warring parties to respect the core human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949 to which Sudan is a party. Sudanese authorities must ensure that all allegations of sexual violence are investigated and perpetrators held to account. Victims must be protected from reprisals and provided with access to free medical, psychosocial, and legal support.

The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) calls for urgent steps to be taken by Sudanese authorities to investigate and hold to account the perpetrators of the rape including the gang rape of 43 women and abduction of 26 others including 10 previously reported by ACJPS in South Darfur. Sudanese authorities should ensure the allocation of adequate resources and victim and witness protection in the cases, that took place since April 2023. One of the victims was raped repeatedly by three armed officers of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) including in her anus which led to bleeding till her death weeks later. Two others were beaten with a lash before being raped, also by RSF officers.

The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) expresses deep concern over the increasing trend of sexual violence during the ongoing armed conflict in Sudan. Survivors have identified armed actors as perpetrators including the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Arab militia, and Sudanese Alliance Forces. Scores of women and girls have been subjected to sexual violence including rape. Some have been held for several days in conditions of sexual slavery. In this release, ACJPS has documented an incident where seven university girls were abducted by the Sudanese Alliance Forces and sexually violated for 14 days.

ACJPS has documented 51 incidents of sexual violence against women and girls in Zalingi and Garsilla localities in Central Darfur. The victims/survivors identified men dressed in the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) uniforms, allied Arab militias and in some cases men in Sudanese Armed Forces’ (SAF) uniform as the perpetuators.

Since April 15, 2023, when the armed conflict erupted in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, violence has extended to various regions, resulting in the deaths of thousands of civilians and the displacement of millions of people. Amidst the turmoil and devastation, a less conspicuous but significant threat looms for civilians of all genders; an escalation in sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).

ظل المركز الأفريقي للعدالة ودراسات السلام (ACJPS) يسعى لإيصال صوت النساء السودانيات وذلك من خلال توثيق حوادث وشهادات الناجيات من العنف الجنسي خلال النزاع المسلح المستمر في السودان مع التركيز على حوداث الإغتصاب والاستعباد الجنسي. و توضح الشهادات الواردة في هذا البيان إلى أن الاغتصاب هو ممارسة ممنهجة لدى قوات الدعم السريع شبه العسكرية في مناطق النزاع ومجموعات قطاع الطرق التي تستغل الفوضى. جميع الأسماء المستخدمة في هذا البيان هي أسماء مستعارة لحماية الضحايا.

The African Center for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) has continued to magnify the voices of Sudanese women by documenting incidents and testimonies of survivors of sexual violence during the ongoing armed conflict in Sudan with emphasis on rape and sexual slavery. The testimonies in this release indicate that rape is a systematic practice in areas of conflict by mainly the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and bandit groups that take advantage of the chaos. All names used in this release are pseudonyms to protect victims.