After 17 months of brutal civil war, Sudan stands on the edge of collapse. The Sudanese army has launched a major offensive in Khartoum, targeting areas held by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). As conflict rages, the humanitarian toll is unimaginable, with over 10.5 million people displaced, according to the UN. However, one of the most horrific outcomes of the war has been the widespread sexual violence inflicted on women.

The UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has called rape a “weapon of war” in Sudan. While both the army and the RSF have been implicated in these crimes, evidence suggests that the RSF and its allied militias are the primary perpetrators. A UN fact-finding mission uncovered numerous cases of rape and sexual abuse, violations of international law.

The atrocities are vividly reflected in the accounts of survivors. One woman, "Miriam," recounted how she offered herself to be raped to protect her daughters. Another, "Fatima," described the horrific ordeal of her neighbors, two teenage girls, who were raped by RSF soldiers. The community’s grief and trauma have deepened as these violations go unpunished, leaving women devastated and desperate.

Many women risk their lives daily to cross between RSF and army-controlled areas in search of food for their families, while their husbands face beatings, extortion, and imprisonment by RSF fighters. One woman at a market broke down, pleading for help, lamenting that the world has abandoned them as they continue to endure unimaginable hardship.

The war has turned Sudan into a place of lawlessness, brutality, and despair, with sexual violence becoming a defining aspect of the ongoing conflict. As the fighting continues, millions of women and children remain trapped in its horrors, pleading for the world’s attention and intervention.