After war broke out in Sudan in mid-April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), 18-year-old Amna Salih* sheltered in her home to avoid the dangers of the conflict.

One day, there was a knock at the door.

“I panicked, but shakingly opened the door, and there were some soldiers. They came inside and on realizing that I was alone, they started to rape me, one after another with a gun pointed at me”, she said through tears. "They stayed in my house for four days and did it every day.”

When the soldiers left at last, with the help of a neighbour, Salih was able to escape to a friend’s house in a safer part of the city.

“I was only able to explain what happened to another friend who lived outside Sudan. She sent me some money and advised me to quickly leave the city”, she said. Salih fled the city and travelled throughout Sudan until she arrived at an internally displaced persons’ (IDP) shelter.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has reported that at least 118 people had been subjected to sexual violence, including rape, gang rape, and attempted rape in Sudan as of mid-December 2023, including 19 children.

Many of those attacks were committed in homes and on the streets, that report said, adding that only four victims of sexual violence were willing and able to report to the authorities, owing to stigma, distrust of the justice system, the collapse of the institutions of justice, and fear of reprisals.

A few months after arriving in the IDP shelter, Salih was shocked to find out that she was pregnant.

“It has really been a struggle”, she said. “Being pregnant in an IDP shelter with no proper medical care or proper nutrition.”

The Sudanese Organization for Research and Development (SORD) in Kassala State and the Women Awareness Organization (AWOON) in Port Sudan have partnered with UN Women to care for internally displaced persons in Sudan, especially vulnerable women affected by sexual and gender-based violence.

A year into the war, one of SORD’s critical tasks has been caring for pregnant women and girls, many of whom were impregnated due to sexual abuse.

Nahid Ahmed, a specialist in psychotherapy at AWOON, said that the organization has worked with women survivors of gender-based violence and sexual assault.

“We have cases of sexual violence, which we follow closely, though many women don’t want to talk about their experiences”, Ahmed said.“They need intensive psychological support, which we offer, and medication where needed.”

The Red Sea Emergency Room and AWOON, in collaboration with UN Women, have established six Women Situation Rooms (WSRs) to help women access an array of humanitarian services, including helping pregnant women access traditional obstetric care in the absence of health professionals, and providing shelter, food, and water to displaced people.

“We have referred them to the obstetrics and gynaecology departments, and we follow them up closely”, Ahmed said, adding that AWOON worked to support the mental health of pregnant women who survived sexual assaults.

WSRs also provide organizations the opportunity to network, access and share information, and serve as distribution points for goods and services collected through community efforts. Committees at the WSRs coordinate the evacuation of civilians from frontline areas, repair electrical systems to restore power to medical centres, and search for missing persons and reunite them with their families.

The situation room framework can provide women and frontline responders with aid, but “a lot of support is needed in terms of technical and financial assistance for greater effectiveness”, said one UN Women humanitarian worker in Sudan.

According to OCHA, the number of people in need of gender-based violence services in Sudan has increased by more than 1 million, reaching 4.2 million people since the start of the war, and that number is expected to reach 6.9 million during 2024.

The SORD Organization runs one WSR in Kassala where, among other tasks, they document conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence. Through coordinated efforts with women-led organizations, they ensure that affected women have access to necessary services. It’s here where Salih and over 60 other survivors of gender-based violence attend therapy sessions with counsellors for psychological support.

During the last months of her pregnancy, Salih was taken in by a family in the host community who cared for her before the baby was born.

When she delivered her baby, Salih declined to put the child into foster care, citing her own difficult childhood as an adoptee and survivor of childhood sexual assault  

“I don’t want my child to go through the same”, she said, adding that she wanted to see her baby every day.  

*Salih's name has been changed to protect her safety.

“After I found out that I was pregnant, I decided that I would never give up my child,” said Amna Salih.*

When UN Women last spoke to Salih, she had recently given birth to a child after being raped by soldiers amid Sudan’s civil war.

“Now, I'm finally holding my seven-month-old baby in my arms,” she said. Salih, who is 19 years old, said that she was determined to raise her child despite “the harshness of society after they found out that I was pregnant.”

Hundreds of Sudanese women and girls have been raped during the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, which has been ongoing since April 2023.

In a September 2024 report, the Sudanese government’s Unit of Combating Violence Against Women and Children (CVAW), documented 216 incidents of sexual violence in the first 18 months of the conflict, and estimated that those documented cases constituted a mere 2 per cent of the total incidents of sexual violence. The report concluded that sexual violence is being used as a weapon in Sudan, with the objectives of humiliation for ethnic or ideological reasons, forced eviction and displacement, and creating chaos and a sense of insecurity.

The lack of health care and psychosocial support adds to the burdens faced by survivors of sexual violence.

“When he was born, [my son] was sick for a long time and had some health complications,” Salih said. “I didn’t have enough breast milk to feed him, and now it has stopped entirely.”

UN Women has worked with the Sudanese Organization for Research and Development (SORD), to provide Salih and many others with psychological and medical support, helping her to rebuild her life and care for her child.

Salih said that a social worker helped her secure healthcare and emotional support before the baby was born, and that a generous local family cared for her and her baby after birth. However, that family is facing economic hardship due to the war, making Salih’s future all the more uncertain.

“I often think that the burden and responsibilities have become too much for them, because I don't have any source of income, especially since my baby needs external [powdered] milk, clothes, and health care,” Salih said. “I feel annoyed that I am a burden on them, even though they never complain or make me feel that way.”

Children conceived as a result of conflict-related sexual violence, including Salih’s son, lack vital official documentation such as a full birth certificate identifying the child’s father. Sudan’s National Council for Childhood oversees social welfare programmes for children who need support, but the system lacks funding and consistent protocols, especially during wartime.

“Society is ruthless,” Salih said. “You often hear hurtful words and nicknames used about those who do not know their fathers or mothers.”

UN Women and SORD work to reach survivors at all levels, addressing both the direct impacts of conflict-related sexual violence and the structural and cultural consequences faced by women and girls.

“Conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan is a significant issue, causing economic insecurity, social vulnerability, and limited access to essential services,” said Safia Alamin, Programme Specialist for Gender-based Violence and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse at UN Women Sudan.

“The women, peace, and security resolutions of the UN Security Council emphasize the need for preventative and responsive measures to address this violence, including comprehensive support,” she said. “Despite this, many survivors face challenges in accessing services due to resource constraints, sociocultural stigma, and lack of information.”

UN Women is also working with local partners to develop a comprehensive framework that integrates legal, psychological, and economic resources to support women like Salih and expand the reach of essential services.

“I dream of completing my education to support my son in the future and to meet his needs and expenses,” Salih said. But sometimes, she added, “the future is completely dark for me.”

*Salih's name has been changed to protect her safety.