From the International Rescue Committee (via Coalition for Darfur):
More than 200 women have been sexually assaulted in the last five weeks alone around Darfur’s largest displaced camp, Kalma, an alarming trend that is yet another sign of the region’s plummeting security situation.
The situation is so dire that about 300 women convened a meeting in Kalma on Aug. 7 to plead for more help from the outside world — particularly from African Union troops mandated to protect civilians.
“This is a massive spike in figures. We are used to hearing of 2 to 4 incidents of sexual assault per month in Kalma camp,” said Kurt Tjossem of the International Rescue Committee, which collected the figures.
The numbers from Kalma, in south Darfur, are one measure of Darfur’s downward spiral, which is also being reflected in rising attacks on aid workers and in numbers of people fleeing their homes for displaced camps. The signing of a peace deal on May 5 has done nothing to halt the insecurity. Since the beginning of July, 14,780 newly displaced people have arrived at As Salaam camp in El Fasher, some after having spent two days on foot or riding donkeys to escape violence in north Darfur. They are among 50,000 people who have been displaced across Darfur in recent weeks. Last month alone, nine humanitarian aid workers were killed and 20 vehicles were hijacked in Darfur.
The women of Darfur are particularly vulnerable. They have no choice but to leave their camp confines in search of firewood – expeditions that force them to walk several miles into the bush. If men went instead, they would be killed. “We … have chosen to risk being raped rather than let the men risk being killed,” one woman said at the Aug. 7 meeting, summarizing how hopeless their plight has become. […]
What little protection exists in Darfur could be diminished further on Sept. 30, when the AU’s mandate ends. This will leave women even more in danger of attack and weaken international organizations’ abilities to deliver services to those in need.
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