London / Nairobi — Amnesty International has accused Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of deliberately using sexual violence to humiliate and assert control over communities in Sudan, calling the acts a war crime and a potential crime against humanity, in a report released today.
'They raped all of us: Sexual violence against women and girls in Sudan', details how the RSF has systematically used rape, gang rape, and sexual slavery since the war erupted in mid-April 2023 "to humiliate communities, assert control, and displace communities across the country".
The report documents the rape or gang rape of 36 women and girls --some as young as 15-- along with other forms of sexual violence, across four states between April 2023 and October 2024. The violence often involved severe beatings, torture with hot liquids or sharp blades, and even murder. All survivors and witnesses interviewed identified RSF fighters as the perpetrators. Many reported being targeted on suspicion of affiliation with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
"The RSF's assaults on Sudanese women and girls are sickening, depraved and aimed at inflicting maximum humiliation," stated Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International senior director for regional human rights impact. "The RSF has targeted civilians, particularly women and girls, with unimaginable cruelty during this war."
Amnesty highlights that the open nature of many of the documented attacks suggests perpetrators felt little need to hide their crimes and feared no repercussions. The documented cases likely represent only "a small fraction" of the violations committed by the RSF.
Testimonies
"Women are not leading or participating in this war, but it is women who are suffering the most. I want the whole world to know about the suffering of Sudanese women and girls and ensure that all the bad men who raped us are punished".
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In Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, RSF soldiers reportedly tied a woman to a tree before one raped her while others watched. "It was the most horrific day in my life," she told Amnesty. In Khartoum, the RSF held a woman captive for a month, "raping her almost daily".
Medical workers described being raped by RSF troops if they failed to save wounded soldiers. One nurse recounted being abducted by 13 soldiers in Khartoum North (Bahri), forced to treat injured men, and then gang-raped until she lost consciousness.
Resistance to rape was met with extreme violence. The report cites the case of an 11-year-old boy beaten to death by an RSF soldier as he tried to protect his mother from being assaulted.
Amnesty reports that all the survivors suffered immense physical and psychological harm: "Some suffer kidney pains, irregular periods, walking difficulties or long-term psychological trauma." None of the interviewees were able to get medical attention after being attacked, and recent cuts to USAID-funded health programmes have further limited access to care for refugees.
The report strongly criticised the international community's response, labelling it "reprehensible" and "shameful." It called for efforts to provide comprehensive care for survivors across Sudan and in refugee camps in neighbouring countries, an end to the flow of weapons into Sudan, and accountability for perpetrators and their supporters. "Any countries supporting the RSF, including by supplying them with weapons, shares in their shame".
