(Adnkronos) – The women and girls of Darfur, Sudan, are calling for protection, assistance, and justice because sexual violence is everywhere, both in active conflict zones and in areas far from the fighting. This is what emerges from the new international report by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) – “There’s something I want to tell you…: Surviving the sexual violence crisis in Darfur” – which, with medical data and testimonies, highlights clear patterns of widespread and systematic sexual abuse during the war in Sudan, which is about to enter its fourth year.
Between January 2024 and November 2025, at least 3,396 survivors of sexual violence sought care at MSF-supported facilities in North and South Darfur. However, MSF warns that this figure represents only a small fraction of the phenomenon, as many survivors are unable to safely reach assistance facilities. Women, girls, and female children account for 97% of sexual violence survivors treated in MSF programs.
“Sexual violence is a distinctive component of this conflict, not limited to the front lines, but pervasive throughout all communities,” denounces Ruth Kauffman, MSF’s medical emergency manager. “This war is being fought on the bodies of women and girls. Displacement, the collapse of community support systems, lack of access to healthcare, and deep gender inequalities are allowing these abuses to continue across Sudan.” Survivors’ testimonies and MSF data show that soldiers of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias are responsible for widespread and systematic sexual violence against women.
After the capture of El Fasher – the capital of North Darfur – by the RSF on October 26, 2025, in November MSF treated more than 140 survivors fleeing the city towards Tawila; 94% of them were attacked by armed men, and many reported having suffered violence during their escape. The attacks were widespread, often carried out by multiple assailants in front of family members, and deliberately targeted non-Arab communities as a means of humiliation and intimidation, following previous atrocities committed by the RSF, such as the dismantling of the Zamzam displacement camp.
In a single month, between December 2025 and January 2026, MSF identified another 732 survivors in refugee camps around Tawila, where women reported attacks both during their journey and within the camps themselves. Overcrowded centers, lack of basic security, and precarious conditions – including distant water points, unsafe personal hygiene areas, and a limited number of toilets – further increased their vulnerability.
Survivors described episodes of sexual violence not only during combat but also in daily contexts — on roads traveled to escape violence, in the countryside where families cultivate food, in markets, and in displacement camps — demonstrating how sexual violence extends far beyond the front lines. In South Darfur, hundreds of kilometers from the front lines, 34% of survivors suffered attacks while working in fields or going to agricultural lands, 22% while collecting firewood or searching for water or food. Among them were also children: in South Darfur, 1 in 5 survivors was under 18, including 41 children under 5 years old. MSF data also highlight patterns of systematic abuse: armed men are responsible for most attacks — over 95% in North Darfur, while in South Darfur nearly 60% of cases involved multiple assailants.
A survivor described the violence she endured while fleeing her home: “They took us to an open space. The first man raped me twice, the second once, the third four times. In addition to the rapes, they beat us with sticks and pointed weapons at my head.”
For many, the threat of violence is now part of daily life: “Every day, when people go to the market, cases of rape occur. When we go to the fields, the same thing happens,” says a 40-year-old woman in South Darfur. Survivors also face significant obstacles in accessing care, including instability, stigma, and limited services. Sexual violence is used as a weapon of war and as a systematic means to control civilians, in violation of international humanitarian law, MSF warns.
Community leaders, midwives, activists, and survivors gathered in MSF-organized focus groups have called for the immediate cessation of sexual violence across Sudan, demanding protection, access to care, and dignity, as well as justice and accountability. MSF urges all parties to the conflict — including the RSF and their supporters — to end and prevent sexual violence and ensure that those responsible are held accountable for their actions. Finally, MSF calls on the United Nations, donors, and humanitarian actors to urgently strengthen health and protection services in Darfur and throughout Sudan.
