Approximately 1,000 women participated and 76 percent of those between 25 and 49 years old “reported feeling unsafe in the fields and displacement sites, but also outside the fields: in markets, water points, in firewood collection areas, roads and streets,” she said, speaking from Khartoum.
This was particularly the case at night, when they went to use the latrines in the fields.
“No matter where, they feel unsafe and it’s not a few incidents or a few places,” he said.
Displacement, violence and danger in the dark
The conflict in Sudan has now entered its fourth year, and fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shows no signs of stopping.
Falcione said most of the women she met on her visits across the country – including the northern states, Khartoum, and White Nile and Blue Nile states – “have lived under shelling and active conflict for many months.”
Many have been displaced multiple times “and all of them have suffered enormous violence or have witnessed violence suffered by their families and community members.”
Furthermore, “the path to safety is actually not safe at all,” she added, as women face “harassment, sexual violence, all types of physical violence, shortages of food and water, and in displacement areas, as I said, they continue to feel unsafe.”
He described his visits to displaced persons camps, where women and children overwhelmingly make up the majority of residents.
“Women, including pregnant women, have to walk at night in completely dark fields, trying to reach latrines without any lighting,” she said.
Furthermore, reporting cases of gender-based violence remains extremely difficult due to stigma, fear of retaliation, financial constraints, and distance from service providers.
what women want
As for what Sudanese women need most, Ms. Falcione reported that three-quarters indicated the top priority was economic empowerment and livelihoods, while their missions confirmed that women want to return to their homes.
“They ask for three things,” he said. “Basic services and access to health; access to schools, particularly for their children, and livelihood opportunities.”
She emphasized that Sudanese women “don’t want to be fed. They want opportunities, income-generating activities, opportunities to be able to feed their families and their children.”
The question, however, is whether there will be enough financial support to meet women’s needs at a time when funding for the protection and health sectors currently stands at 14 percent and 11 percent, respectively.
“We continue to hear over and over again that this is a protection crisis that especially affects women and girls, it is a health crisis, and yet the funding does not follow the definition or the needs that are being identified,” she said.
Safe spaces and services
UNFPA runs 88 safe spaces for women and girls across Sudan, where they “find the courage to talk about the violence they have experienced, seek help and receive the services they need most.”
However, the lack of resources makes it difficult to maintain operations.
Ms. Falcione shared the testimony of a girl who felt safe in these spaces because she could spend time with her friends, just as they did before the war.
“I think this is a very important message that the world should hear,” the veteran humanitarian said, urging the international community not to abandon the Sudanese people.