Sex For Survival: Women In Sudan Forced To Trade Sex For Food Amidst Conflict

In conflict-ridden Sudan, women are being coerced into sexual relations with soldiers to obtain food for their families, according to a report. More than twenty women who escaped from Omdurman, a city in Sudan, revealed that engaging in sex with soldiers was their only means of securing food or items they could sell to generate money for their families' needs.

A woman who shared her experience with The Guardian described how the assaults occurred in factories around the city where food was stored. She explained, “My parents are too old and ill, and I never allowed my daughter to search for food. I had to go to the soldiers, as it was the only way to get food—they were everywhere in the factory area.” This woman was compelled to have sex with soldiers at a meat-processing factory in May of the previous year.

The assaults reportedly began shortly after the outbreak of civil war in Sudan, which has seen the national army clashing with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Reports of rape by armed men emerged within days of the conflict starting on April 15 of the previous year.

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The war in Sudan has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, with some estimates reaching up to 150,000. It has also caused the world’s worst displacement crisis, with over 11 million people forced to flee and has pushed the country to the brink of famine.

Numerous women have come forward with distressing accounts of systematic sexual abuse by RSF fighters in the areas they control. These soldiers have also demanded sex in exchange for access to abandoned homes, where women could loot items to sell in local markets, as reported by The Guardian.

One woman recounted being allowed to take food, kitchenware, and perfumes from empty houses after having sex with soldiers. “What I went through is indescribable; I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I did it only to feed my children,” she said.

City residents reported seeing soldiers bringing women to abandoned houses, where they were forced to line up as soldiers chose those they preferred. “Many women queue outside our neighborhood. I sometimes hear screaming, but there's nothing we can do,” said one resident.

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