The ongoing civil war in Sudan has given rise to horrific atrocities, with reports emerging that children as young as one year old have been subjected to sexual violence. The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) has documented widespread cases of rape and sexual assault, revealing the devastating toll of the conflict on the nation’s youngest and most vulnerable citizens.
Since the start of 2024, at least 221 cases of child rape have been officially reported, but the true number is believed to be much higher due to societal stigma and fear of retribution from armed groups. Unicef’s latest report highlights the grave reality, stating that 16 of the victims were under five years old, including four infants. Alarmingly, one-third of the documented victims were boys, who face additional challenges in seeking help and justice.
Mass sexual violence has long been used as a weapon of war in Sudan, particularly by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Although Unicef did not directly attribute blame, previous UN reports have accused RSF fighters of orchestrating systematic sexual assaults to terrorize communities, especially in Darfur. Many of the victims are black Africans, seemingly targeted in an ethnic cleansing campaign designed to drive them from their homes.
Eyewitness accounts provide harrowing details of the abuses. Omnia (not her real name), an adult survivor, described the horrors faced by young girls held captive. “After nine at night, someone opens the door, carrying a whip, selects one of the girls, and takes her to another room. I could hear the little girl crying and screaming. They were raping her,” she recounted.
Efforts to support survivors have been further crippled by funding cuts. The UN’s humanitarian response is severely underfunded, and recent US aid reductions have forced many local initiatives to shut down. Women-led organizations, which play a critical role in assisting survivors, receive less than 2% of Sudan’s total humanitarian funding. Groups like “She Leads,” which provided crucial aid to rape survivors, have been forced to close due to a lack of resources.
As war continues to devastate Sudan, the plight of its children remains a dire humanitarian crisis demanding urgent global attention and intervention.
