This article contains references to rape and sexual assault.
Women and girls are bearing the brunt of Sudan’s nearly three-year-old civil war, facing widespread gender-based violence, displacement and deepening hunger as the conflict intensifies.
Mariam (not her real name), an 18-year-old, has had her life forever changed as a result of the conflict.
Until recently, she had lived in the city of Al-Fashir, which had withstood an 18-month-long starvation siege by one of the warring parties, the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group.
But last October, the militants stormed and captured the city, leading to widespread bloodshed and further displacement for thousands of families who had already fled neighbouring towns and villages in the western North Darfur region.
“We were living in Al-Fashir, which was difficult,” she recalled. “There was shelling and fighting. We girls went to the well in large numbers. Some people met us on our way to fetch water. There were many of them.
“They threatened us with weapons, insulted us and beat us. About five men came to me, and one of them raped me. The other girls faced the same thing.”
As the violence in Al-Fashir intensified, Mariam and her mother were forced to flee their home, walking for five days to reach safety.
Mariam and her mother are now staying in a displacement camp, where food, water and medicine are scarce. Mariam said the camp is so crowded that she and her family are forced to sleep out in the open with no shelter.
‘A war on women’s bodies’
Mariam’s story is far from unique.
In a December report, the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) network documented 1,294 confirmed cases of sexual and gender-based violence across 14 Sudanese states between 2023 and 2025.
It comes amid one of the most destructive conflicts in recent history, with the former United States envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello, suggesting as many as 400,000 people may have been killed since the war began in April 2023, and the United Nations saying about 14 million people have been displaced from their homes.
Starvation has swept the North Darfur region. In September, a formal declaration of famine was made in Al-Fashir by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification group. Two additional famine alerts were issued for neighbouring areas last week.
Mariam and her mother are just two of the women and girls supported by humanitarian organisation Plan International, which provides lifesaving food and dignity kits, as well as support for survivors of gender-based violence.
CEO of the humanitarian organisation, Reena Ghelani, says stories like Mariam’s are part of a broad pattern of targeted attacks.
“The story unfortunately is way too common,” she said.
“Sudan is a crisis of hunger, but it’s also a crisis of violence against women. It is a war on women’s bodies. It’s a targeted attack.”
“When you attack and rape girls and elderly women, any woman, you’re attacking a whole society in a culture like Sudan and you’re shredding the essence of that society. So it’s actually a deliberate war strategy many of us are saying now.”
Full extent of gender-based violence may never be known
Mariam’s mother Fatima, whose name has also been changed, said her daughter only told her of her assault after she became sick on their long trek to safety.
“We decided to take her to hospital. The child then told me: ‘Mother, those people raped me before.’ I asked her. ‘Why didn’t you tell me, my daughter?’ She replied, ‘I was afraid.'”
Ghelani says this fear is common and means the full extent of the assault on women may never be known.
“Women do under-report it. They try to hide it out of shame, out of fear of being exiled from their communities,” Ghelani said. “Fear that they are then considered vulnerable for more attacks.”
After being examined by a doctor, Mariam was told she was pregnant.
“The doctor said her blood was fine and that she was healthy. She said that if we wanted the baby, we could have it. This is our fate. We have nothing; we arrived wearing only the clothes we are wearing now,” Fatima said.
Aid organisations struggling to meet demand
Ghelani said organisations like Plan International were struggling to address the needs of the thousands of sexual assault survivors around Sudan, partially due to the threat of violence.
“It’s highly dangerous for aid workers right now in Sudan. Two hundred aid workers have lost their lives in trying to reach people. Plan International is actually still present in the locations where famine is hit or people have fled to. That doesn’t mean it’s easy. And in some locations we’re the only NGO,” she said.
The United Nations said the level of need in Sudan had grown dramatically, with 33.7 million people — around two thirds of the population — expected to need urgent humanitarian assistance in 2026, an increase of 3.3 million from the year prior.
Meanwhile, a global drawback of aid funding has further limited humanitarian support.
The United Nations Population Fund, the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, said cuts to aid funding had forced the agency to withdraw from more than half of the 93 health facilities it was supporting.
Plan International is running its own appeal, calling for donations to help work that specifically supports vulnerable women and girls throughout Sudan.
But Ghelani says the organisation is also calling on the Australian government to continue to help make a difference.
“Sudan is producing one of the largest refugee flows and that creates problems throughout the region and beyond,” she said.
“So it’s not only an international solidarity thing of the right thing to do, it’s also the smart thing to do right now.
“And the Australian government, as it’s looking at its federal budget, we would call on them to look at an additional $50 million. It’s really needed. It’s not just what you can see next door in your neighbourhood, it’s what’s coming.”
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.
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