Nine in 10 organizations say trauma persists among women and girls displaced from El Fasher a year after its fall
Remarks by Anna Mutavati, UN Women Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, to whom quoted text may be attributed, at press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva
[As prepared]
Khartoum/Geneva/Nairobi – “A year ago, the world watched as atrocities in El Fasher, North Darfur, were livestreamed to our phones.
A year later, the impact of violence, and the risk of renewed violence remains.
And across Sudan, drone attacks are increasing across Blue Nile State, Khartoum, West Kordofan, Gedaref State, and the Khashm al-Girba area in Kassala State. Most of those killed or injured are women and children. Many had already fled violence, including sexual violence, seeking safety or attempting to return home.
The images that emerged from El Fasher a year ago offered a window into the extent to which violence in Sudan is inflicted on women and girls – gang raped, beaten, humiliated and robbed of their belongings. Some were taken and have not been seen since.
UN Women conducted a survey of 50 women’s organizations supporting people displaced from El Fasher. I am sharing the results with you today.
One year on, the scars of the violence in El Fasher have not faded. Women and girls continue to live with the trauma of sexual violence, the disappearance of their daughters, sisters, mothers, husbands and sons, the killing of family members, and the loss of their homes and livelihoods.
Psychological distress, sleepless nights and unsafe living conditions are part of daily life, and so is the struggle to find food, water, and healthcare.
Safety is mostly out of reach.
Nine in ten organizations we surveyed described displaced women and girls living in unsafe living conditions. Forty-nine of 50 organizations observed signs of psychological distress among women and girls displaced from El Fasher, and 45 of them – 90 per cent – reported that this distress persists today. Forty-eight of 50 organizations report women being unable to sleep because of the trauma they have experienced.
Around two-thirds of organizations we spoke to were aware of women or girls who disappeared during or after the fall of El Fasher.
The needs of women and girls are immense but access to support is severely limited.
Forty-three of the 50 organizations had encountered women or girls in distress who had received no mental health, psychosocial or legal support since fleeing, and nearly half said few or none of the women they work with could access such support.
Critical service providers, including those providing mental health and health care are facing threats of arrest and harassment while delivering services – all in the absence of protection.
Some people have started to return to El Fasher, but the fear of violence is constant.
According to the 2026 Sudan Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessment by IOM[1], 84 per cent of 117 households surveyed in Al Fasher said women avoid marketplaces, two thirds avoid collecting firewood, while half avoid social, community or religious spaces.
We are hearing reports of hospitals lacking doctors and medicines needed to function beyond emergency cases. Food and access to other basic goods are also scarce.
Across Sudan, we are seeing an increase in drone attacks on displacement camps, markets and other civilian infrastructure, leaving those fleeing with no safe space to turn and with total disregard for international humanitarian law.
Attacks on civilian infrastructure kill and injure civilians and add to the difficulties they face in accessing essential services and livelihoods, and force more people to flee. The UN Fact-Finding Mission found that 80 per cent of hospitals in conflict-affected areas are not functioning, causing a spike in maternal deaths and reducing women’s access to sexual and reproductive health care.
But there is another side to this war that is rarely told. The emergence of women across Sudan as front-line responders, caregivers, mediators, and peacebuilders. They are doing so as the institutions around them have collapsed, and as persistent underfunding and insecurity threaten their work. Supported by UN Women, these women-led organizations reach communities others cannot, and are a lifeline to women and girls, their families and communities.
Across Sudan, UN Women provides lifesaving support to women and girls and invests in women’s leadership – which is critical for peace, security, and recovery. We work with grassroots women’s networks to strengthen their capacity for dialogue, negotiation, conflict analysis, mediation and advocacy, enabling women to resolve disputes, reduce tensions and influence the decisions shaping their communities.
As we mark 26 years since the adoption of Security Council resolution 1325, which laid the foundation for the Women, Peace and Security agenda, the experiences of women in Sudan, and their role in the country’s peace and security are central to this commitment.
UN Women calls for the protection of civilians, accountability for perpetrators of violence, and compliance with international humanitarian and human rights law. Women and girls must have access to essential services and resources and participate meaningfully in decisions about peace and their country’s future, with sustained support for the women leaders and organizations working on the front lines.”
![On 10 December 2024 in Sudan, Omnia [NAME CHANGED] peers through the window during a visit to a women’s organization. Displaced from her home due to fighting and threats, she lives with the trauma of being kidnapped, threatened, beaten and raped by armed men. To support her healing, Omnia is receiving mental health and psychosocial support from a women’s organization. Photo: UNICEF/UNI754435/Tess Ingram](/sites/default/files/styles/card_340_247/public/2026-04/sudan_gbv_sexualviolence_2024_filephoto_uni754435_1200x800.jpg.webp?h=10d202d3&itok=W6Bb9Fs6)
