UN says more than 200 children raped as a tactic of war in Sudan

UN agency, UNICEF, has said that more than 200 children have been raped as a tactic of war in Sudan since the start of 2024.

Reported by The Associated Press on March 4^th, 221 children, including boys and those as young as a year old, were raped by armed men, according to reports compiled by gender-based violence (GBV) providers in the war-ravaged nation.

The report suggests more than 30 percent of child rape victims were boys including one case in South Kordofan where a boy was raped at gunpoint and several children, including a 6-year-old were also raped, whilst out picking fruit.

UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell said, “children as young as one being raped by armed men should shock anyone to their core and compel immediate action,” according to France24.

The agency also acknowledged that these reports only involved those who have come forward and reported their sexual abuse. In a culture with serious social stigma regarding gender-based and sexual violence, along with severely hampered access to GBV services, it is highly likely the number of victims is far greater than 200.

Tess Ingram, a spokesperson with UNICEF, told The Associated Press, “It is only the tip of the iceberg of what are undoubtedly hundreds more children who have been raped.”

The social stigma is reflected in the story of a girl from Omdurman who gave recorded testimony to UNICEF which was shared with AP. She said she moved multiple times looking for shelters as some displacement centers would turn her away after learning that she got pregnant by her rapist.

Many who have survived sexual violence now have to deal with physical injuries and “serious psychological scars,”, including a girl who experienced seizures linked to her trauma and others who told Ingram they attempted suicide.

In a country with 61,800 internally displaced children, rendered more vulnerable because of the escalation of the conflict, and the huge reduction in aid following the termination of USAID by US President Donald Trump, the risk of children encountering sexual violence remains extremely high.

This report hopes to act as a “wake up call” for the international community and, when making decisions on funding allocation, GBV programmes “must be treated by donors as lifesaving,” UNICEF has said.

The Associated Press, France24