Darfur: Women Raped Even After Seeking Refuge

[Kire]

Darfur: Women Raped Even After Seeking Refuge
Donors Must Increase Support to Victims of Sexual Violence

(Oslo, April 12, 2005) — Women and girls who have fled ethnic cleansing in Darfur are being raped and subjected to sexual violence around the camps where they have sought refuge, Human Rights Watch said in a briefing paper released today.


Donors meeting in Oslo on April 11-12 to discuss aid for Sudan must provide more support to protect victims of sexual violence in Darfur and the refugee camps in Chad.

“Rape and sexual violence have been used to terrorize and uproot rural communities in Darfur,” said Peter Takirambudde, Africa director of Human Rights Watch. “Donors urgently need to set up programs to protect women and girls from sexual violence and address the needs of those who have been raped.”

The Human Rights Watch briefing paper documents how the Sudanese security forces, including police deployed to protect displaced persons, and allied Janjaweed militias continue to commit rape and sexual violence on daily basis. Even as refugees in Chad, women and girls fleeing the violence in Darfur continued to face the risk of rape and assault by civilians or militia members when collecting water, fuel or animal fodder near the border. Human Rights Watch interviewed many victims of sexual violence in camps in Chad and Darfur during two research missions to these areas in February.

More: http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/04/11/sudan10467.htm

[rodeodance]

1. so often war is about raping.