Widespread sexual violence against women and girls in Sudan’s Darfur region
Sudan crisis response: How MSF is responding to urgent needs inside Sudan and in neighboring countries
28 May 2025
Women and girls in the Darfur region of Sudan are at near-constant risk of sexual violence, MSF is warning, as violence against civilians continues to define the war in Sudan. Many survivors who speak with MSF teams in Darfur and across the border in Chad share horrifying stories of brutal violence and rape. Most are women and girls, but men and boys are also at risk. The true scale of this crisis remains difficult to quantify because services for survivors are limited, and the extent of the suffering is beyond comprehension.
Background
On April 15, 2023, intense fighting broke out between the Sudanese military, or Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum, Sudan. The violence quickly spread across most of Sudan, killing and injuring thousands and forcing millions of people from their homes.
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams in Sudan are treating war-wounded patients with catastrophic injuries and providing humanitarian aid and medical care in refugee camps and displacement sites, where people are living in poor conditions and lack adequate health care and basic needs. More than 12 million people have been displaced by the current conflict, including over 3 million people who have fled to neighboring countries such as Chad, Egypt, and South Sudan.
SOURCE: Sudan Crisis Response, by Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders, 28 May 2025. PHOTO: Sudan 2024 ©Faiz Abubak