It is nearly two years since the brutal war between the forces of the military government in Khartoum and the Rapid Support Forces militia erupted, sparking one of the world\u2019s worst humanitarian crises.<\/p>\n
Human rights abuses have been committed on both sides and more than 30.4 million Sudanese require urgent assistance, with millions displaced, and tens of thousands killed. Nearly 25 million people face acute hunger.<\/p>\n
According to the UN Children\u2019s Fund, UNICEF, there have been increasing and alarming reports of sexual violence being used to terrorise civilians.<\/p>\n
Layla\u2019s story<\/strong><\/h2>\nIn late 2024, in the northern state of Sudan, armed men forced their way into Layla\u2019s* home in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, while she was alone with her children. \u201cThey arrested my son and took me to a separate car. I noticed they were looking at my daughter in a disturbing way \u2013 she\u2019s 18 years old. Probably they took me away to keep her alone<\/strong>.\u201d, she told UNFPA.<\/p>\nLayla\u2019s fears for her daughter were a precursor of what she would later confront at an overcrowded prison, where she was held for nearly three weeks.<\/p>\n
\n\n<\/div>\nA woman, who has fled conflict in Sudan, washes clothes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u2018Unimaginable horrors\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\nRecounting that they brought her son back and started beating him in front of her, Layla added that they interrogated her, accused her of being a spy and claimed that her husband was working for the army.<\/p>\n
Although the Sudanese army has recently retaken strategic areas of Khartoum, at that time opposition paramilitary forces were in control. Layla described being strip-searched, beaten and detained without charge.<\/p>\n
\u201cI witnessed unimaginable horrors,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen the officers left, the soldiers would begin raping prisoners. They would take young women out into the yard, and all night long we would hear the screams of girls and women<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\nOver 12 million women and girls \u2013 and increasingly men and boys \u2013 are estimated to be at risk of assault, an 80 per cent increase from the previous year.<\/p>\n
A growing health crisis<\/strong><\/h2>\nSince the outbreak of the war in April 2023, the situation has worsened dramatically, with almost 13 million people forcibly displaced \u2013 nearly one third of the population \u2013 and the health system all but obliterated.<\/p>\n
Across Sudan, UNFPA is providing reproductive health and protection services through 90 mobile health teams, more than 120 health facilities, and 51 safe spaces<\/strong> for survivors of sexual violence.<\/p>\nThis assistance includes clinical treatment and psychological counselling following rape, sexual abuse and assault, as well as referrals for legal assistance and awareness raising among communities of the risks of sexual violence, coercion and trafficking.<\/p>\n
At a UNFPA-supported safe space, Layla explained how she struggled to endure the ordeal in prison. \u201cOne day, a 16-year-old girl was brought back to the cell, bleeding heavily,\u201d she recalled. \u201cShe came to me, hugged me, and we cried together for an entire day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n![\"UNFPA](\"https:\/\/global.unitednations.entermediadb.net\/assets\/mediadb\/services\/module\/asset\/downloads\/preset\/Collections\/Embargoed\/02-04-2025-UNFPA-Sudan-01.jpg\/image1440x560cropped.jpg\" "\\"UNFPA")
\n<\/div>\nUNFPA is providing reproductive health and protection services in dozens of locations in Sudan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
After nine days in prison, Layla stopped eating and drinking, hoping to die instead of being raped as well. Eventually becoming very sick, Layla was released.<\/p>\n
Although Layla and the young survivor were able to find physical and mental health support through the safe space, they are not among the majority.<\/p>\n
According to UNFPA, there have been more than 540 attacks on health facilities reported over the last two years<\/strong>, supplies and equipment are frequently looted, and health workers, patients and ambulances are targeted with violence and intimidation.<\/p>\n\u2018No longer safe havens\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\nMaha Mahmoud, a social worker at a UNFPA-supported safe space in Dongola in Northern State, said health facilities are no longer safe havens.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was informed that a young woman had been raped at a maternity hospital<\/strong>,\u201d she told UNFPA. \u201cShe\u2019s 18, divorced with one daughter and had been living with her family when opposition forces entered her area. They took her, along with many other women, and raped them.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cShe lost consciousness. When she woke up, she found herself surrounded by other girls, all of whom had also been raped. They were then left in the street.\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman would later discover she was pregnant. \u201cShe made her way to the safe space, where we provided her with psychological support and all the necessary medical care,\u201d said Ms. Mahmoud, adding that the woman and her baby are slowly recovering. \u201cSince then, we have continued to help her cope with the trauma.\u201d<\/p>\n
Listen to an interview with UNFPA\u2019s Representative ad interim in the country, Argentina Matavel Piccin:\u00a0<\/h3>\nUrgent appeal<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Layla\u2019s fears for her daughter were a precursor of what she would later confront at an overcrowded prison, where she was held for nearly three weeks.<\/p>\n
A woman, who has fled conflict in Sudan, washes clothes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u2018Unimaginable horrors\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\nRecounting that they brought her son back and started beating him in front of her, Layla added that they interrogated her, accused her of being a spy and claimed that her husband was working for the army.<\/p>\n
Although the Sudanese army has recently retaken strategic areas of Khartoum, at that time opposition paramilitary forces were in control. Layla described being strip-searched, beaten and detained without charge.<\/p>\n
\u201cI witnessed unimaginable horrors,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen the officers left, the soldiers would begin raping prisoners. They would take young women out into the yard, and all night long we would hear the screams of girls and women<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\nOver 12 million women and girls \u2013 and increasingly men and boys \u2013 are estimated to be at risk of assault, an 80 per cent increase from the previous year.<\/p>\n
A growing health crisis<\/strong><\/h2>\nSince the outbreak of the war in April 2023, the situation has worsened dramatically, with almost 13 million people forcibly displaced \u2013 nearly one third of the population \u2013 and the health system all but obliterated.<\/p>\n
Across Sudan, UNFPA is providing reproductive health and protection services through 90 mobile health teams, more than 120 health facilities, and 51 safe spaces<\/strong> for survivors of sexual violence.<\/p>\nThis assistance includes clinical treatment and psychological counselling following rape, sexual abuse and assault, as well as referrals for legal assistance and awareness raising among communities of the risks of sexual violence, coercion and trafficking.<\/p>\n
At a UNFPA-supported safe space, Layla explained how she struggled to endure the ordeal in prison. \u201cOne day, a 16-year-old girl was brought back to the cell, bleeding heavily,\u201d she recalled. \u201cShe came to me, hugged me, and we cried together for an entire day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\n<\/div>\nUNFPA is providing reproductive health and protection services in dozens of locations in Sudan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
After nine days in prison, Layla stopped eating and drinking, hoping to die instead of being raped as well. Eventually becoming very sick, Layla was released.<\/p>\n
Although Layla and the young survivor were able to find physical and mental health support through the safe space, they are not among the majority.<\/p>\n
According to UNFPA, there have been more than 540 attacks on health facilities reported over the last two years<\/strong>, supplies and equipment are frequently looted, and health workers, patients and ambulances are targeted with violence and intimidation.<\/p>\n\u2018No longer safe havens\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\nMaha Mahmoud, a social worker at a UNFPA-supported safe space in Dongola in Northern State, said health facilities are no longer safe havens.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was informed that a young woman had been raped at a maternity hospital<\/strong>,\u201d she told UNFPA. \u201cShe\u2019s 18, divorced with one daughter and had been living with her family when opposition forces entered her area. They took her, along with many other women, and raped them.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cShe lost consciousness. When she woke up, she found herself surrounded by other girls, all of whom had also been raped. They were then left in the street.\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman would later discover she was pregnant. \u201cShe made her way to the safe space, where we provided her with psychological support and all the necessary medical care,\u201d said Ms. Mahmoud, adding that the woman and her baby are slowly recovering. \u201cSince then, we have continued to help her cope with the trauma.\u201d<\/p>\n
Listen to an interview with UNFPA\u2019s Representative ad interim in the country, Argentina Matavel Piccin:\u00a0<\/h3>\nUrgent appeal<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Over 12 million women and girls \u2013 and increasingly men and boys \u2013 are estimated to be at risk of assault, an 80 per cent increase from the previous year.<\/p>\n
A growing health crisis<\/strong><\/h2>\nSince the outbreak of the war in April 2023, the situation has worsened dramatically, with almost 13 million people forcibly displaced \u2013 nearly one third of the population \u2013 and the health system all but obliterated.<\/p>\n
Across Sudan, UNFPA is providing reproductive health and protection services through 90 mobile health teams, more than 120 health facilities, and 51 safe spaces<\/strong> for survivors of sexual violence.<\/p>\nThis assistance includes clinical treatment and psychological counselling following rape, sexual abuse and assault, as well as referrals for legal assistance and awareness raising among communities of the risks of sexual violence, coercion and trafficking.<\/p>\n
At a UNFPA-supported safe space, Layla explained how she struggled to endure the ordeal in prison. \u201cOne day, a 16-year-old girl was brought back to the cell, bleeding heavily,\u201d she recalled. \u201cShe came to me, hugged me, and we cried together for an entire day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\n<\/div>\nUNFPA is providing reproductive health and protection services in dozens of locations in Sudan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
After nine days in prison, Layla stopped eating and drinking, hoping to die instead of being raped as well. Eventually becoming very sick, Layla was released.<\/p>\n
Although Layla and the young survivor were able to find physical and mental health support through the safe space, they are not among the majority.<\/p>\n
According to UNFPA, there have been more than 540 attacks on health facilities reported over the last two years<\/strong>, supplies and equipment are frequently looted, and health workers, patients and ambulances are targeted with violence and intimidation.<\/p>\n\u2018No longer safe havens\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\nMaha Mahmoud, a social worker at a UNFPA-supported safe space in Dongola in Northern State, said health facilities are no longer safe havens.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was informed that a young woman had been raped at a maternity hospital<\/strong>,\u201d she told UNFPA. \u201cShe\u2019s 18, divorced with one daughter and had been living with her family when opposition forces entered her area. They took her, along with many other women, and raped them.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cShe lost consciousness. When she woke up, she found herself surrounded by other girls, all of whom had also been raped. They were then left in the street.\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman would later discover she was pregnant. \u201cShe made her way to the safe space, where we provided her with psychological support and all the necessary medical care,\u201d said Ms. Mahmoud, adding that the woman and her baby are slowly recovering. \u201cSince then, we have continued to help her cope with the trauma.\u201d<\/p>\n
Listen to an interview with UNFPA\u2019s Representative ad interim in the country, Argentina Matavel Piccin:\u00a0<\/h3>\nUrgent appeal<\/strong><\/h2>\n
This assistance includes clinical treatment and psychological counselling following rape, sexual abuse and assault, as well as referrals for legal assistance and awareness raising among communities of the risks of sexual violence, coercion and trafficking.<\/p>\n
At a UNFPA-supported safe space, Layla explained how she struggled to endure the ordeal in prison. \u201cOne day, a 16-year-old girl was brought back to the cell, bleeding heavily,\u201d she recalled. \u201cShe came to me, hugged me, and we cried together for an entire day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n<\/div>\nUNFPA is providing reproductive health and protection services in dozens of locations in Sudan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
After nine days in prison, Layla stopped eating and drinking, hoping to die instead of being raped as well. Eventually becoming very sick, Layla was released.<\/p>\n
Although Layla and the young survivor were able to find physical and mental health support through the safe space, they are not among the majority.<\/p>\n
According to UNFPA, there have been more than 540 attacks on health facilities reported over the last two years<\/strong>, supplies and equipment are frequently looted, and health workers, patients and ambulances are targeted with violence and intimidation.<\/p>\n Maha Mahmoud, a social worker at a UNFPA-supported safe space in Dongola in Northern State, said health facilities are no longer safe havens.<\/p>\n \u201cI was informed that a young woman had been raped at a maternity hospital<\/strong>,\u201d she told UNFPA. \u201cShe\u2019s 18, divorced with one daughter and had been living with her family when opposition forces entered her area. They took her, along with many other women, and raped them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe lost consciousness. When she woke up, she found herself surrounded by other girls, all of whom had also been raped. They were then left in the street.\u201d<\/p>\n The woman would later discover she was pregnant. \u201cShe made her way to the safe space, where we provided her with psychological support and all the necessary medical care,\u201d said Ms. Mahmoud, adding that the woman and her baby are slowly recovering. \u201cSince then, we have continued to help her cope with the trauma.\u201d<\/p>\n\u2018No longer safe havens\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Listen to an interview with UNFPA\u2019s Representative ad interim in the country, Argentina Matavel Piccin:\u00a0<\/h3>\n
Urgent appeal<\/strong><\/h2>\n