Statement within the framework of the 16 Days Activism against Gender-based Violence

December 2, 2024

Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread and destructive human rights violations against women’s humanity. Since the outbreak of war in the country, women have been living in tragic conditions, as about seven million women and girls in Sudan are exposed to violations and the risk of sexual violence and gender-based violence in Khartoum, Al-Jazeera and Darfur states, according to the representative of the United Nations Population Fund in Sudan. Violations include all forms of physical violence, including beating, flogging and killing, sexual violence, rape and gang rape, which often occurs in front of family members, sexual exploitation and kidnapping for sexual purposes and also for ransom, in addition to forced marriage and human trafficking across borders for sex, all of which are violations that amount to war crimes. Women are no longer safe from violence, even while fleeing and displacing from combat sites, and many of the shelters they have taken refuge in are no longer free of violence, which has increased their suffering and affected their physical and psychological health, which may accompany them throughout the stages of their lives, and even those who were raped and became pregnant, tried to end their lives by committing suicide for fear of the shame and stigma rooted in social norms.

Accordingly, within the framework of this international activism against Gender-based violence campaign, we call on all actors, civil society organizations, and human rights organizations to provide adequate support to women and girls who are victims of violence, by standing by their side, listening to their voices, and helping them rebuild their lives by providing comprehensive health and psychological care and working to help them obtain criminal justice. We call on all relevant parties at the regional and international levels to take serious steps to protect women from the unprecedented violence that is currently against them in Sudan as a result of this war. We also emphasize the role of local and international media and urge them to shed light on the systematic violence against women that is currently occurring in conflict areas in Sudan, and that it be honest and professional media that reflects their conditions, prepares real reports, and documents images of violence that contribute to the journey of searching for justice.

We hope that the human and moral conscience of the two parties to the conflict will awaken from its slumber and stop this war and the consequences of it on women’s bodies, the shedding of innocent blood, forced displacement, shattered infrastructure, a collapsed economy, and a wounded homeland threatened by division and fragmentation, we demand them in a loud voice… our voice, we women, to

stop the war to preserve the homeland, and to preserve the lives of citizens who want to live in peace…

and breathe without fear and feel safe in the country.