UN Report Details Systematic Sexual Violence in Sudan Conflict

The United Nations Human Rights Office released a report documenting widespread sexual violence in Sudan’s war, describing it as a systematic tactic used to terrorise civilians. The report verified 546 incidents across 16 of the country’s 18 states between April 2023 and mid‑April 2025, affecting at least 838 victims – 539 women, 284 girls, eight men and seven boys. Perpetrators were chiefly men in Rapid Support Forces (RSF) uniforms, affiliated groups and Arab militias, with additional cases linked to the Sudanese Armed Forces, Joint Forces and other militias.

Abuses recorded include rape, gang rape, sexual slavery, forced marriage, forced prostitution, sexual torture and trafficking. The report noted at least 85 women and girls held in sexual slavery, 59 pregnancies resulting from rape, and the deaths of 13 victims, the youngest being nine years old. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned, “Sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war… This is a war crime and, if committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack, a crime against humanity.” The document called for independent investigations, accountability for perpetrators and victim‑centred responses, warning that unchecked impunity threatens peace and social cohesion in Sudan for years to come.