"The first man raped me twice; the second, once, and the third, four more": the women of Sudan speak
A report by MSF documents more than 3,000 cases of sexual violence in Darfur, almost all at the hands of combatants
Barcelona"We were taken to an empty lot [...]. The first man raped me twice; the second, once, and the third, four more times. The fourth also raped me once." "All the way, militiamen asked women to follow them and insisted when we refused. It happened everywhere. In the woods: two militiamen there, three more a while later. They were everywhere. Everything happened in broad daylight." Such harrowing testimonies are common in the Darfur region, in Sudan, where in a couple of weeks it will be three years since the country has been plunged into a devastating civil war.
While the clashes between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the country's army have sown terror – to the point that the UN has warned of serious human rights violations – and famine is affecting more than 24 million people (40% of the population), sexual violence unfortunately goes unnoticed. Nevertheless, it is widespread and constitutes another weapon of war for both sides in the conflict.
Between January 2024 and November 2025, at least 3,396 survivors of sexual violence were treated in centers with the presence of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in North and South Darfur, Sudan. A figure that the organization indicates is only "a fraction of the true magnitude of the problem," given that most cannot access medical care safely. 97% of the registered victims were women, and 95% had been abused by armed men, according to the organization's report.
After the Rapid Support Forces captured the city of Al-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur, in October 2025, MSF treated more than 140 women who had been abused and were fleeing to the city of Tawila, where there are refugee camps. The attacks were widespread and often perpetrated by multiple aggressors in front of their families, and were deliberately directed at non-Arab communities as a form of humiliation and terror, as in previous RSF atrocities. To these must be added another 732 people whom MSF treated between December 2025 and January 2026 in the displacement camps around Tawila.
Beyond the front
This type of violence is not limited to the battlefield, but "is present in all communities," states Ruth Kauffman, MSF's emergency unit health referent. Forced displacement of the population, the collapse of the community support system, lack of access to medical care, and significant gender inequalities, she says, foster the persistence of these abuses throughout Sudan.
Survivors describe attacks not only during combat but also in their daily lives: on roads used to flee violence, in fields where families grow food, in markets, and in displacement camps. "Every day, when people go to the market, there are four or five rapes. When we go to the cultivation field, the same thing happens. Men cover their faces and rape women," explains another witness.
After suffering abuse, many survivors face obstacles in accessing care: insecurity, stigma, and a lack of protection from the aggressor lead to them being neglected or deciding not to report. To prevent this, MSF is making an international appeal to hold aggressors accountable and for humanitarian actors to urgently expand health and protection services in Darfur and throughout Sudan.
