ALBAWABA - Amid the ongoing civil war happening in Sudan right now which resulted in the displacement of millions and the killing of more than 16,000, some Sudanese women are reportedly being forced into sex due to the lack of food supply in the country.
According to The Guardian, women in the city of Omdurman, Sudan are being forced into having sex with soldiers in exchange for food due to its scarce supply. By the time of writing this article, the food crisis in the country left nearly 26 million people who are facing food insecurity.
Women in Sudan forced to have sex for food
A victim stated that she had no choice other than having sex with soldiers just to get food for her parents and daughter. In the Guardian article, she said:
"Both of my parents are too old and sick and I never let my daughter go out to look for food,” she said. “I went to the soldiers and that was the only way to get food – they were everywhere in the factories area."
Many victims said that most interactions occurred in the city's "factories area" which stores the most food.
Since the start of the conflict, Sudan has also witnessed quite several violent rape cases by RSF soldiers in Darfur and the capital Khartoum. Moreover, some women who spoke to The Guardian said that other than the "acute food insecurity," several had sex with soldiers to get access to abandoned buildings which can be looted of items and later sold in local markets.
UNHCR: More than half of Sudan displaced people are children
Displaced children share a meal provided through a charity initiative at a displacement camp in Gedaref city in the east of war-torn Sudan on July 13, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), children in Sudan account for around 51% of those affected, making the war-torn country one of the world's greatest child displacement disasters.
Since the beginning of the Sudan crisis and as of June 27, 2024, UNHCR Egypt has granted registration appointments to 631,424 people forced to flee Sudan, of whom 325,140 (51%) have been properly registered.
