SUDAN: No let up in sexual violence in Darfur - MSF

NAIROBI, 8 Mar 2005 (IRIN) - The incidence of rape and sexual violence against women and girls, often perpetrated by armed men, continues to be high in the war-torn western Sudanese region of Darfur, according to the medical charity, Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF).

In a report released on Monday, the eve of International Women's Day, MSF reported that between October 2004 and mid-February 2005, doctors in several locations in North and South Darfur had treated almost 500 women and girls who had been raped.

"These women come to us for treatment of sexually-transmitted diseases, physical injuries and psychological trauma," Paul Foreman, MSF Head of mission in Khartoum, told IRIN on Tuesday. "The problem is massive."

The report, entitled, "The Crushing Burden of Rape: Sexual Violence in Darfur", said: "MSF believes that these numbers reflect only a fraction of the total number of victims because many women are reluctant to report the crime or seek treatment."

It called on local government and other health care providers in Darfur to ensure full and appropriate treatment for victims of sexual violence.

MSF quoted rape survivors as saying most attacks occurred when women left the relative safety of their villages and internally displaced persons' camps to search for firewood and water.

Eighty-one percent of those treated by the NGO claimed members of militia groups or the military assaulted them.

Almost a third (28 percent) of the rape survivors who sought treatment from MSF reported that they had been raped more than once, either by single and multiple assailants, the report said.

In Darfur, as in other conflicts, MSF said, rape had been a deliberate and regular tool of war, used to destabilise and threaten a part of the civilian population. It said that survivors of rape in Darfur, rather than being given appropriate medical and psychosocial care, often faced rejection and stigma.

In some cases, the report added, victims of rape had been imprisoned while perpetrators of the crime went unpunished.

"Despite its devastating consequences, rape in Darfur and in other conflicts has not yet received the attention that the scale of the crime or the gravity of its impact call for," Kenny Gluck, MSF director of operations, said from Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

"This has to change," he added. "It is time to end this vicious crime, which is a clear breach of international humanitarian law. Perpetrators should be prosecuted, not tolerated."

Speaking in Khartoum on Monday, Jan Egeland, UN emergency relief coordinator, added his voice to the condemnation of continued sexual violence in the war-ravaged region of Darfur.

"The government officials said the Sudan had not known this outrageous crime against women before," Egeland told a news conference. "They conceded that it has recently become a rampant phenomenon in the society, where hundreds of cases have been documented."

Foreman said MSF had released the damning report despite a request by the Sudanese government that it refrain from doing so.

Jan Pronk, special envoy of the UN Secretary-General to Sudan, upon receiving a copy of the report, said in a statement: "I am concerned about the findings of the report. These findings are consistent with the reports from UN human rights observers and UN humanitarian agencies in Darfur."

He added: "I will give a very high priority to this issue and will continue to work with UN agencies and other partners, including MSF, in addressing this evil, this phenomenon of rape. This report is an opportunity for the government of Sudan to reaffirm its commitment to end impunity with regard to these severe cases of rape and sexual abuse."

There was no immediate comment from the Sudanese government.

The conflict in Darfur dates back to February 2003 and pits Sudanese government troops and militias, allegedly allied to the government, against rebels fighting to end what they have called marginalisation and discrimination of the region's inhabitants by the state. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and up to 1.85 million internally displaced or forced to flee to neighbouring Chad.

[ENDS]