A new UN report documents sexual violence on a devastating scale; justice remains distant

A new report from the UN human rights office, OHCHR, details the breadth and brutality of conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan since war broke out in April 2023. OHCHR verified 546 incidents across 16 of Sudan’s 18 states from the start of the conflict to mid-April 2026, affecting at least 838 victims, of whom all but 15 were women and girls. Officials stressed that these figures represent only the tip of the iceberg.

The report finds that sexual violence has spread alongside both the conflict and displacement routes, deployed consistently to terrorise and traumatise civilian populations. Most verified incidents were attributed to men in Rapid Support Forces (RSF) uniforms, affiliated fighters, and Arab militias, though incidents were also attributed to the Sudanese Armed Forces, affiliated security actors and other armed movements. The documented acts include rape and gang rape, sexual slavery, forced marriage, forced prostitution, sexual torture and trafficking for the purpose of sexual violence. Nearly a quarter of verified incidents involved gang rape; in one documented case, at least ten men raped a girl.

In Darfur, there are reasonable grounds to believe that some acts of sexual violence, committed in the context of a widespread and systematic attack on the civilian population, may amount to crimes against humanity. At least 13 victims, among them children, died, mostly after brutal gang rapes; the youngest was nine years old. At least 85 women and girls were held in sexual slavery and forced to carry out domestic labour or generate income. At least 59 women and girls became pregnant or gave birth following rape. Many survivors suffered serious medical complications, worsened by the near-total collapse of functioning health facilities.

The report also identifies patterns of ethnically motivated sexual violence. Many ethnic Masalit victims from West Darfur reported that attackers demanded their tribe before raping them. Victims were told in 2023: “This year, all of you Masalit girls will deliver our children.”

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the findings confirmed warnings he had issued following a visit to Sudan in January, that sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war. “This is a war crime and, if committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack, a crime against humanity,” he said. Calling persistent impunity a compounding harm, Türk urged timely, independent, and impartial investigations and called for all perpetrators, including those exercising command responsibility, to be held fully accountable. Victims must be guaranteed access to effective remedy, including reparation, he added.

Sources: OHCHR, UN News, 23 June 2026