WUNRN
13
February 2008 [ ] [ ]
[ ]
|
Women and girls in Darfur usually have to walk long
distances, often unaccompanied, to fetch firewood, thatch or water for their
families |
EL FASHER, DARFUR, 12 February 2008 (PlusNews) -
People working in the vast humanitarian operation in Sudan's western region of
Darfur are more than willing to talk about rebel attacks and the need for
civilian protection, but when asked specifically about sexual violence against
girls and women - reported to be rife - they fall silent.
On condition of anonymity, the employees of many
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur
State, said sexual and gender-based violence was extremely common; one
humanitarian worker said it was possibly "the most serious security issue
affecting women here".
In April 2007, after attacks by Sudanese government
forces and allied militia, in which at least 15 cases of sexual assault,
including rape, had occurred, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights, Louise Arbour, called for investigations into widespread sexual
violence.
Women and girls in Darfur usually have to walk long
distances, often unaccompanied, to fetch firewood, thatch or water for their
families, which is when most attacks occur. The perpetrators are mostly
described only as 'uniformed forces', which could mean government troops and
police or any of the several rebel factions and militias active in the region.
On the rare occasions when NGOs have dared to raise the
issue of sexual attacks, and have even catalogued them, the government has
usually denied that the incidents ever happened.
"The government officials usually ask us to name
the alleged victims, which of course we cannot do, so they say we have failed
to provide evidence and continue with the denials," said one UN protection
officer in Khartoum, the national capital.
"It is not in the culture of Sudan or the culture
of Darfur to rape - it does not exist," President Omar el Bashir said in
an interview with the US-based news network, NBC, in May 2007.
The various rebel groups operating in Darfur have also
denied allegations that their soldiers were involved in sexual attacks on girls
and women, and have blamed the government-allied militia, the Janjawid, for
using rape as a weapon of war in Darfur.
No NGO in El Fasher is prepared to discuss the issue
openly; sexual attacks are dealt with at hospitals and clinics and never
reported to the authorities.
There is a clear sense that people working in the field
of sexual violence are, as one UN employee put it, "terrified to
death" of talking about it.
"You never know what is going to spark a reaction
from the authorities; it's better to be quiet and carry on working than to
speak out of turn and be thrown out of here," she said.
Government denials are not the only reason the lid is
kept on sexual violence; it is a cultural taboo to discuss rape, and the
victims are often shamed by their families when they report it.
But silence has its price. Women and girls in Darfur are
so reluctant to report rape that unless serious injuries are sustained they
would rather not even seek medical help; it also means they are unable to
access post-exposure prophylactics (PEP) that could prevent possible infection
with the HI virus. Despite this, organisations in the area are finding new ways
to reach out to them.
Working in silence
"Our job is to treat patients who come in. We have
learnt that it is not in our best interests, or the interests of the victims,
to report the numbers of victims," one local doctor told IRIN/PlusNews.
"We counsel the patients and advise them of their rights under the law, we
treat their injuries and we send them home - the rest is up to them."
Various NGOs and UN agencies are active in the field of
sexual and gender-based violence. Relief International (RI), a non-profit
humanitarian agency providing emergency relief aid, and the International
Rescue Committee, a non-profit organisation that works with refugees and
victims of armed conflict, have several primary healthcare centres in North
Darfur State.
Each RI-trained midwife is taught clinical management of
gender-based violence and is able to suture cuts and administer PEP kits,
mainly provided by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). RI has also simplified and
translated into Arabic the UN World Health Organisation's clinical protocols
for the management of gender-based violence, making them more easily accessible
to local midwives.
The UN's civilian police ensure that RI leaflets with
basic information on the steps a woman should take in case of a sexual attack
are widely distributed.
The African Union Mission in Sudan, based in Darfur, has
a sexual and gender-based violence unit that educates local police in how to
handle cases of rape, including legal measures that women can take under
Sudanese law. Few women opt to take the perpetrators to court, but the hope is
that a culture of reporting will slowly become part of the local culture.
A number of organisations, including the US-based
Cooperative Housing Foundation (CHF International) and RI, are teaching women
to make and use fuel-efficient stoves that not only benefit the environment,
but also reduce the number of trips they need to make to fetch firewood, hence
reducing their exposure to attacks.
Although the organisations are having some success in
treating and preventing such attacks, health workers in the region say there is
a clear need for government acknowledgement of the problem of sexual violence
if it is to be dealt with effectively.
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