Sudanese Civil Society Strategizing to end Sexual Violence against Women in Darfur

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Sudanese Civil Society Strategizing to end Sexual
Violence against Women in Darfur

• Fahima A. Hashim
• Salmmah Woman Resource Center

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• This article will focus on sexual violence
  against women, especially that which is now
  occurring in Darfur, and the ways in which civil
  society movements can, or can not, address these
  issues
• which the Sudanese government has reacted to
  these reports, and their denial of it.
• analyze how Sudanese civil society organizations
  deal with sexual violence in Darfur

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Patterns of Rape and unjust Laws Facts and women
strategies

• late 2003- to the beginning of 2005 mass rape was
  systematic, and it was used as a weapon of war.
• The Sudan Government, just rejects all these
  reports as, anti-government propaganda.
• The Darfur Assessment Mission Consortium, issued
  on one of their early reports, released in
  September 2004, on Assessment of Conflict
  affected populations in Kabkabiya Kutum
  Localities, North Darfur State
• existence of rape and sexual violence.

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• In March 2005 MSF Holland published their first
  report on widespread sexual violence in Darfur,
  faced by hundreds of women and girl seeking
  medical care, MSF Holland highlighted the
  immediate need to stop sexual violence in May
  2005.
• Human Rights Watch report on sexual violence and
  its consequences among displaced persons in
  Darfur and Chad, in April 2005
• Rape when used as a weapon of war is specifically
  aimed at terrorizing and subjugating entire
  communities, and affects the social fabric of
  communities.
• The victims blamed sometimes for disgracing the
  family, as a consequence of that some married
  women are accepted and some wives are abandoned
  by their husbands.

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• Another issue mentioned is pregnancy as a result
  of rape.
• The treatment mentioned included treatment of
  injuries that may occur in the course of sexual
  violence, preventive treatment for sexually
  transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS and
  hepatitis B and C, termination of unwanted
  pregnancies,

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Proper Government, the improper culture Darfur
Women the hard way to justice

• The Government of Sudan has never stated rape as
  a major problem in Darfur
• the Government of Sudans practice of harassing
  and even detaining members of organizations that
  try to report such statistics.
• Al Bashir in March 2007, where he categorically
  denied that rape has ever been a problem in
  Darfur.

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• Sudan has a large number of civil society
  organizations that engage in addressing issues of
  human rights, gender and women rights
• Most of the civil society organizations are based
  in Khartoum
• some are registered at the national level, which
  means they are registered at the Federal level
  and they can operate with branches in all states,
  while the State registered organizations only
  operate in the state in which they are registered
  of

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• The Government of Sudan has restricted the
  ability of civil society to gather and
  disseminate information relating to rape,
  abduction and other violations of rights of women
  especially the case of Darfur.
• In February 2006, the Sudan Government enacted a
  law for humanitarian and voluntary work, which
  imposes severe restrictions on NGOs and gives the
  Government excessive discretionary and regulatory
  powers over their work

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• in August 2005, the Government issued a new
  voluntary law Act that restricts the work of
  civil society organizations.
• The government of Sudan although, did build
  strong strategy, that helped dismantle the
  existed civil society groups rapidly, by
  arresting NGOs staff,
• Hence, as a result of these barriers on
  restricting proposals and recruitment motivation
  and harassment it created a vacuum, and omitted
  the existence of local organization brain drain

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Conclusion

• It was very clear that ending sexual violence in
  Darfur is not an easy task for the Sudanese civil
  society organizations, with their limited
  resources,
• the great need for legal reform the Comprehensive
  Peace Agreement and the Interim Constitution, the
  rape law now is our priority, as well as building
  of women rights defenders network is arising.

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• It is important to note that despite HAC
  restrictions to civil society operational
  activities, civil society were able to create
  different methods to defeat the system and did
  provide on psychosocial services, reported rape
  cases, training in the area of transitional
  justice, and the International Criminal Court
  procedures were carried out.
• Finally, the donor agencies need to recognize the
  importance of civil society role in uplifting
  lives of women in Darfur,