Apr
9
Rape still a big issue for women in Darfur
April 9, 2008 | | Leave a Comment
By Cindy Ru
A new report released by the New York-based Human Rights Watch says five year since the Darfur crisis broke out, women and girls in the region are still facing great danger of rape and sexual violence.
The 44-page report, entitled “Five Years On, No Justice for Sexual Violence in Darfur”, draws a detailed picture of the harsh reality women in Darfur are facing. It says rape and sexual violence are still prevalent today in the conflict zone despite pledges from the Sudanese government to have “zero tolerance” for sexual violence.
“The government of Sudan has failed to rein in the abuse, much of which is carried out by their own soldiers and allied militia. In spite of the presence of international peacekeepers in Darfur, they have to date been under-resourced and unable to protect women and girls from rape and other forms of violence, ” says HRW in a press release on April 7.
Sudanese soldiers, pro-government militias, rebel groups are all responsible for the rape and sexual assault committed, according to the group. And victims of such crime could be as young as 11. The report also says most of the victims are reluctant to speak up, and even if they do, police mostly will fail to properly investigate their cases and the soldiers or militia will go unpunished.
In a UN report published in March, the Sudanese army, along with pro-government militia were accused of looting towns and raping girls during their ground attacks in West Darfur this February.
“…consistent and credible accounts of rape committed by armed uniformed men during and after the attack in Sirba were collected,” says the report.
But the Sudanese government rejected the rape charge and said its soldiers were just protecting civilians by driving out the rebels, according to BBC.
The Human Rights Watch report calls on the Sudan government to “issue a presidential decree that rape and other forms of sexual violence by government forces and government-backed militia will be promptly investigated and prosecuted, and ensure that such a decree is enforced”. It also suggests the UNAMID to deploy more female officers to better deal with sexual attack issues and put the protection of women in IDP camps as a priority by increasing what they call preventive “firewood patrols”.
