Sexual violence has been used as a war tactic for centuries. This tactic of war, deliberately used by conflict parties to punish and humiliate individuals and communities, involves many forms of sexual violence, not just rape. In cases of sexual violence as a sign of power and a means of domination in conflict zones; there is rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, sexual violence, forced marriage and all kinds of sexual violence related to conflict. Sexual violence; it is used systematically to demoralize, destroy, frighten and even change the ethnic composition of all communities. The use of women and girls as a means of sexual violence is especially common in conflict zones. In our analysis, the situation of this ongoing abuse in conflict zones in Sudan on a global scale will be discussed. The purpose of addressing the issue in a particular country is not to change the dynamics of war – especially when it comes to sexual violence. This issue, which has been a war tactic for centuries in many different regions of the world, still exists in many regions with the form we will see in the Sudan example.
Sudan has been the scene of fierce fighting since mid-April. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the parties to the conflict, have been at odds over RSF’s integration into the military and security reform, April 2023’’a bloody civil war has begun. The ongoing war has caused the people of the region to face the crisis in many respects. There has been a huge increase in cases of civilian casualties, conflict-related internal and external migrations, food shortages and conflict-related sexual violence.
In the 1 year after the war in Sudan, nearly 14 million people, including more than 25 million children, are in need of humanitarian assistance and support as a result of the war. More than 8.6 million people (about 16 percent of the country’s total population) have left their homes since the conflict began. By taking refuge in Sudan or neighboring countries, they have made Sudan the world’s largest displacement crisis.
While the war is currently raging, the data seem to involve a multifaceted humanitarian crisis. Data on food insufficiency, famine, migration, etc., also feed the elements that lead to sexual violence in the region. Cases of trafficking in women in the region due to hunger, the organization of sexual assaults against women and girls who remain vulnerable on the road to migration, cases of rape based on ethnicity show the breadth and depth of the scope of the conflict. In addition, these cases in the war zone are very difficult to detect. For this reason, the data obtained in cases of sexual violence in Sudan contains estimated numbers. The actual number has been reported to be much higher. The reasons for this include the fact that most of the survivors are afraid of shame and retaliation, lack of electricity and connectivity, instability of the security situation and attacks on health facilities. For all of these reasons, sexual violence has become a spiral and is progressing every day.
According to UN estimates, more than 15 million women and girls in Sudan were at risk of gender-based violence, including intimate partner violence, even before fighting broke out on April 35th. This number has since climbed to an estimated 4.2 million people.
According to the estimates made on the reported cases, it was determined that the available data continued to increase within months. By addressing the cases on the issue under the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa Report, we can examine the dimensions that the parties in the region use sexual violence as a war tactic.
The seemingly “bir war between RSF and SAF was waged, both ethnically and gendered, with women, especially those from certain ‘-Arabized’ ethnic groups, creating a major goal. Our reports from Darfur and the accounts of activists speak with ethnic targets specifically targeting the Masalite tribe. Many surviving accounts say that women were raped and forced to watch with their families. Many parents lost their lives defending their daughters, and women were also killed for resisting rape. Young men, human rights defenders and Sudanese civilians in all their diversity are also the main targets of this conflict.” ( SIHA Network)
As can be seen, there is ethnicity and gender-based violence in the region. This kind of violence is one of the important points where the dynamics of war are nurtured, especially against certain groups. The war broke out of a dispute between the parties and, through the ethnic identity and gender of the people of the region, placed violence on a legitimate ground. Parties using this method commit crimes against humanity by committing acts that disrupt ethnic identity and deepen hate crime through violence.
There are also reports of young girls being forced into marriages with RSF soldiers in “Hartum. These forced marriages can be a result of parents accepting dowry offers after RSF drowning families ’ tools to access basic needs and income, leaving dowry addicts as the only way for families to survive. It can also be a result of families being too afraid of violent retaliation from the RSF if they try to refuse marriage. Three forced marriage cases were reported from North Khartoum to SIHA in July.”
The alarming famine in the region causes the public to be vulnerable to abuse and violence by soldiers. Failure to meet basic needs leads to an increase in such cases. At the same time, the vulnerability of the people of the region and their exposure to the violence of the conflict trigger fear. This situation breaks the resistance of the public in cases of sexual violence and forced marriage.
“SIHA has received a number of reports showing the pattern of abduction of women and girls and their arrest in situations where the risk of sexual and domestic slavery is high ”
“Time in time, these women are not only taken into slavery, but also sold as slaves. This has been reported many times, with most cases of women taking place in Darfur.”
Slavery is defined as another of the types of sexual violence. Men and women sold as slaves in war zones are used for different purposes. In slave trade reports, the issue is aimed at women for sexual purposes and men for obtaining power and acquiring weapons. In talks with eyewitnesses in Sudan, the enslavement of women and cases of human trafficking reveal this fact. This is against human rights. In conflict zones, violence does not work one way. As it is seen, there is a multifaceted situation that triggers the humanitarian crisis and can cause intergenerational traumatic effects.
We see the reflections of the cases we are dealing with on gender-based violence in Sudan from many different dimensions. This turns individual rape and enslavement activities into mass rape and human trafficking in the region. The fact that these abuses and violations continue to increase over months is also evidence that normalization of abuse by the parties in the region has led to widespread.
“SIHA has received verified reports of 96 rape and rape cases since the outbreak of the war.”
“The vast majority of cases encountered in May consisted of individual rapes, while as the war progressed, reports of gang rapes increased noticeably and became more common, accounting for a significant portion of reported sexual assaults. In Darfur and Khartoum, the SIHA stated that sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is most commonly used by the parties to the conflict ( SIHA Network)
“Our records show that the prevalence of sexual violence committed by RSF in early October continues to increase significantly. This suggests that soldiers on the ground are being encouraged to commit sexual violence crimes, and this is a clear reflection of the fact that female’ bodies are being used as a means of war.”
Sexual exploitation, forced marriage, kidnapping and slavery to women and girls during this conflict also represent a clear violation of basic human rights and international legal standards. However, these cases, which we set out from the Sudan example, are one of the most important issues of other conflict zones. Despite this, it has been neglected in many regions and it has been seen that the activity on the subject has been made difficult.
UNFPA, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency that coordinates response to gender-based violence in 30 emergency areas around the world, received only a fifth of the funding it needed to address gender-based violence in 2022.
Countries such as Sudan, where the violence includes mass rapes that the United Nations has labeled as “extreme”, do not finance 80% of the humanitarian response, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA).
In addition to financing problems, the institutions present in the region cannot continue to function. Emergency reporting data of survivors in Sudan, where attacks and violence are increasing, are increasing day by day. And this situation places all kinds of violations in the region on a legitimate ground. The points where the reports published by the organizations operating in the region are common are. The failure of the parties to the conflict to agree on the steps taken for peace in the last 1 year has transformed the Sudanese crisis into a region with a multifaceted chain of violations. In a region where violence of all kinds is normalized, the risk will continue not only for the existing society, but also for future generations after it.
Dilek Sapancı
REFERANCES
Sudan: One Year of Conflict – Key Facts and Figures (15 April 2024)
Sudan: UN condemns spike in violence against women and girls
Impact of under-funding fight against gender-based violence
Silent Weapons, Loudets Wounds: Addressing the Crisis of Sexual Violence in Sudan Report