Humanitarian crisis in Sudan Doubling SGBV for women and girls – UN Women

The United Nations Women (UN Women) has released a gender alert highlighting the catastrophic impact of the Sudan war on women and girls.

According to the report published today, September 27, a 100 percent increase in the number of people in need of gender-based violence-related services was recorded from December 2023. Although there have been some reported cases of abuse of boys and men, most of the cases involved women and girls.

Ongoing violence in areas such as Khartoum, Darfur and Kordofan is believed to have increased risks for women and girls, as reports of conflict-related sexual violence, sexual exploitation and abuse continue to increase.

Lower quality of life

In addition to rising cases of gender-based violence in the region, UN Women expressed concern about the lack of water, sanitation and hygiene services.

“At least 80 percent of internally displaced women are unable to obtain clean water due to affordability, safety concerns and distance,” the report said in part.

While the country faces the worst acute food insecurity on record, the report also shows that Sudanese women and girls have less access to food. “Sixty-four percent of female-headed households experience food insecurity, compared to 48 percent of male-headed households in ten states.”

UN Women also reported that 160,000 of these women are pregnant and an estimated 54,000 deliveries will take place in the next three months. This means more children will be caught up in the displacement crisis, which is said to be the world’s worst since the 2011 Syrian civil war.

It noted that cases of abuse among the more than five million internally displaced women and girls remain under-reported due to factors such as insufficient support, fear of stigmatization and retaliation.

Education is also a major concern as more than 2.5 million girls, or 74 percent of school-aged girls, are out of school. This education crisis was identified as a factor that makes out-of-school girls vulnerable to harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation.

Hodan Addou, acting regional director of the UN Women’s Office for Eastern and Southern Africa, described the challenges women and girls face in Sudan as “unimaginable.”

“We cannot allow Sudan to become a forgotten crisis. Now more than ever, the international community must work together to support women in Sudan and ensure they have the resources and protection they need to survive and rebuild their lives,” he said.

Working with women-led organizations, UN Women supports community initiatives to build resilience and ensure access to crucial humanitarian services for those affected by the crisis. To achieve this goal, UN Women is calling for an increase in funding for local women-led organizations, as only 1.63 percent of the Sudan Humanitarian Fund’s funding was allocated to these organizations in 2023.

UN Women also calls for a return to the negotiating table for peace dialogues as a mechanism to end the war. They also call for urgent action to ensure the physical protection of displaced women and girls in Sudan, with safe access to food, safe water and sexual and reproductive health care.