UNICEF Publishes New Harrowing Report: Sudan’s Child Rape and Sexual Violence Crisis

UNICEF has published a new report, Sudan’s Child Rape and Sexual Violence Crisis, on 4 March 2025, highlighting the voices of courageous and resilient women and girls interviewed by UNICEF in an effort to increase the attention, protection and aid children in Sudan receive.

The data recorded 221 rape cases against children since the beginning of 2024. There are an additional 77 cases of sexual assault against children, primarily attempted rapes cases. The child rape cases occurred in nine states in Sudan, from south to north and east to west.

Of the 221 child rape survivors, 147 children are girls. That is 66% and 33% are boys. 16 child rape survivors were under the age of five, including four one-year-olds.

In 2024, the number of documented grave violations against children in Sudan was 16% higher than in 2023, which was already a 473% increase from 2022.

During December 2024 and January 2025, UNICEF documented dozens of first-hand accounts of gender-based violence in Sudan, including cases involving child sexual violence survivors, including:

• during invasions of cities, especially during raids on people’s homes
• while fleeing danger
• while being held against their will, often in houses
• while in detention
• during trafficking across or outside the country for the purpose of sexual exploitation
• in exchange for food or other essential supplies
• during activities of daily living, such as fetching water or going to the market

The accounts encompass:

• rape, including gang rape and marital rape
• sexual assault, including attempted rape and sexual violence or abuse without penetration
• physical assault and killings, especially in combination with sexual violence and including against spouses, children and family members of survivors
• child marriage
• psychological or emotional abuse, including threats of violence, harassment and intimidation, especially at checkpoints and in combination with looting

The accounts also detail sexual violence resulting in:

• significant psychological trauma
• social stigma, isolation and family rejection
• pregnancy
• sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and hepatitis
• serious physical injury, including wounds, fractures, abscesses, and other complications

Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that erupted in Sudan in April 2023 has driven more than 11 million people from their homes. All parties to the conflict have been accused of abuses of human rights, including grave violations of children’s rights. The conflict has spawned a humanitarian crisis – famine, disease and displacement – that has grabbed headlines. ‘But less often reported is the severe protection crisis, especially the widespread perpetration of sexual violence against children,’ stated UNICEF in the report.

‘Women and girls who become pregnant due to rape face unique challenges. The social isolation they experience can have long term consequences for the well-being of themselves and their child, including affecting their employment prospects, their acceptance by family and the community or the child’s access to services,’ stated UNICEF.

In some cases, these challenges result in babies being placed in foster family care or ‘kafala’ families, given up for adoption, or abandoned. One centre that provides temporary care for infants until foster families are arranged reported a record 77 children in their care in 2024, up from 64 children in 2023 and 29 in 2022. They said this was largely as a consequence of children being born out of rape.

UNICEF is working in Sudan to reduce the risks of gender-based violence (GBV), address underlying GBV drivers and social norms and support survivors – especially children – to access lifesaving medical, mental health, safety and referral services. UNICEF is doing this by:

• Providing community-based services, including GBV case management, mental health and psychosocial support and referral services in locations across Sudan.

• Building the capacity of frontline workers including social workers, psychologists and medical professionals on safe referrals, safety audits and risk mitigation.

• Establishing safe spaces and gender-sensitive ‘confidential corners’ that provide gender-based violence services for survivors.

• Integrating gender-based violence services into health services at health centres and mobile clinics.

• Delivering relevant medical supplies, such as post-exposure prophylaxis kits to prevent possible HIV infections.

• Providing cash assistance to at-risk women and adolescent girls to help them meet their basic needs including medical services.

• Working together with communities to address harmful social norms and practices through social and behaviour change. As a result, hundreds of thousands of community members have mobilised to promote non-violent practices in their local communities.

• Establishing adolescent girls clubs that run advocacy, skill-building and empowerment sessions on GBV issues for adolescent girls.

For more information or to see the full report, visit unicef.org