Latest news with #ClaireSanFilippo
The Guardian
12 hours ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Women and girls ‘not safe anywhere' as Darfur suffers surge in sexual violence
As Sudan's Darfur region has been overrun by militias, women are facing the constant threat of sexual violence, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has reported. The medical charity said in the South Darfur region alone its workers treated 659 sexual violence survivors between January and March this year, more than two-thirds of whom had been raped. 'Women and girls do not feel safe anywhere. They are attacked in their own homes, when fleeing violence, getting food, collecting firewood, working in the fields. They tell us they feel trapped,' said Claire San Filippo, MSF emergency coordinator, who called on the warring parties to hold their fighters to account. 'These attacks are heinous and cruel, often involving multiple perpetrators. This must stop. Sexual violence is not a natural or inevitable consequence of war, it can constitute a war crime, a form of torture, and a crime against humanity.' Several women who gave testimonies to MSF described raids where fighters killed all the boys and men in a place before raping women and girls. A 27-year-old nurse said she was raped last year by fighters who accused her of treating Sudanese army soldiers. 'I want protection now; I don't want to be raped again … I was too afraid to go to the hospital. My family told me, 'Don't tell anybody'. I don't have any more pain. But I have nightmares about it,' she said. MSF said that 56% of the sexual violence they documented was perpetrated by non-civilians. Women and girls having to walk long distances to gather food and water put them in particular danger, the report said. A third of women and girls were attacked while travelling to or working in fields. Since April 2023, Darfur has witnessed a surge in human rights abuses as it has been taken over by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary and allied militias as they fight for control against the government's Sudanese armed forces. The fighting has recently been concentrated around the city of El Fasher, where conditions have deteriorated rapidly for civilians. The RSF's seizure of the nearby Zamzam displacement camp led to further reports of increased sexual violence. The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (Siha), a coalition of women's rights groups, said it has verified 14 cases of rape but had received reports of many more, during the Zamzam attack and in the weeks since, as well as dozens of reports of women disappearing or being abducted by RSF fighters. 'Sexual violence has become an everyday reality for women and girls in Darfur, along with the rise in sexually transmitted diseases,' said Siha's head, Hala al-Karib, who said the international community had abandoned women in Darfur. Karib said the violence had been escalating since before the current conflict because of the withdrawa of a UN and African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur that had provided some protection to local communities. 'The peacekeeping mission primarily contributed to the safety and security of women by patrolling roads and enabling them to access their farmlands, while also securing displaced camps,' said Karib. 'The level of neglect toward women in Darfur is staggering. This region is experiencing active genocidal acts, horrific war crimes, and famine due to a siege on livelihoods by all actors. There is no dedicated support for women survivors … this crisis is unfolding amid complete silence and utter neglect from international actors.'
Al Arabiya
3 days ago
- Health
- Al Arabiya
Women in Sudan's Darfur at ‘near-constant risk' of sexual violence: MSF
Sexual violence is a 'near-constant risk' for women and girls in Sudan's western region of Darfur, Doctors without Borders (MSF) warned on Wednesday, calling for urgent action to protect civilians and provide support to survivors. Since war began in April 2023 between Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the reported attacks in Darfur have been 'heinous and cruel, often involving multiple perpetrators,' according to MSF emergency coordinator Claire San Filippo. The conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced 13 million and left the country's already fragile infrastructure in ruins. The RSF has been accused since the start of the war of systematic sexual violence across the country. 'Women and girls do not feel safe anywhere,' said San Filippo, after MSF teams from Darfur and neighbouring Chad gathered harrowing accounts of victims. 'They are attacked in their own homes, when fleeing violence, getting food, collecting firewood, working in the fields. They tell us they feel trapped,' she added. Between January 2024 and March 2025, MSF said it had treated 659 survivors of violence in South Darfur, 94 percent of them women and girls. More than half were assaulted by armed actors, and nearly a third were minors, with some victims as young as five. In Tawila, a small town about 60 kilometres (40 miles) to the west from North Darfur's besieged capital of El-Fasher, 48 survivors of sexual violence were treated at the local hospital between January and early May. Most arrived after fleeing an RSF attack on the Zamzam displacement camp that killed at least 200 civilians and displaced over 400,000. In eastern Chad, which hosts over 800,000 Sudanese refugees, MSF treated 44 survivors since January 2025 -- almost half of them children. A 17-year-old girl recounted being gang-raped by RSF fighters, saying: 'I wanted to lose my memory after that.' According to Ruth Kauffman, MSF emergency medical manager, 'access to services for survivors of sexual violence is lacking and, like most humanitarian and healthcare services in Sudan, must urgently be scaled up'. 'People -- mostly women and girls -- who suffer sexual violence urgently need medical care, including psychological support and protection services,' she added.
Arab News
3 days ago
- Health
- Arab News
Women in Sudan's Darfur at 'near-constant risk' of sexual violence: MSF
PORT SUDAN: Sexual violence is a "near-constant risk" for women and girls in Sudan's western region of Darfur, Doctors without Borders (MSF) warned on Wednesday, calling for urgent action to protect civilians and provide support to survivors. Since war began in April 2023 between Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the reported attacks in Darfur have been "heinous and cruel, often involving multiple perpetrators," according to MSF emergency coordinator Claire San Filippo. The conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced 13 million and left the country's already fragile infrastructure in ruins. The RSF has been accused since the start of the war of systematic sexual violence across the country. "Women and girls do not feel safe anywhere," said San Filippo, after MSF teams from Darfur and neighbouring Chad gathered harrowing accounts of victims. "They are attacked in their own homes, when fleeing violence, getting food, collecting firewood, working in the fields. They tell us they feel trapped," she added. Between January 2024 and March 2025, MSF said it had treated 659 survivors of violence in South Darfur, 94 percent of them women and girls. More than half were assaulted by armed actors, and nearly a third were minors, with some victims as young as five. In Tawila, a small town about 60 kilometres (40 miles) to the west from North Darfur's besieged capital of El-Fasher, 48 survivors of sexual violence were treated at the local hospital between January and early May. Most arrived after fleeing an RSF attack on the Zamzam displacement camp that killed at least 200 civilians and displaced over 400,000. In eastern Chad, which hosts over 800,000 Sudanese refugees, MSF treated 44 survivors since January 2025 -- almost half of them children. A 17-year-old girl recounted being gang-raped by RSF fighters, saying: "I wanted to lose my memory after that." According to Ruth Kauffman, MSF emergency medical manager, "access to services for survivors of sexual violence is lacking and, like most humanitarian and healthcare services in Sudan, must urgently be scaled up". "People -- mostly women and girls -- who suffer sexual violence urgently need medical care, including psychological support and protection services," she added.
