Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
According to Fabrizia Falcione, UNFPA Country Representative in Sudan, a recent assessment based on 95 focus group discussions with around 1,000 women and girls found that 76 percent of women aged 25 to 49 feel unsafe in displacement camps, markets, water points, firewood collection areas, roads, and streets across the country.
This insecurity is especially severe at night, particularly when women must walk in the dark to use latrines in camps lacking lighting.
The conflict in Sudan, now in its fourth year between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, has exposed many women to shelling, active fighting, repeated displacement, and various forms of violence, including harassment and sexual and physical violence in their communities.
Falcione noted that even the routes to safety remain dangerous, with women facing violence, shortages of food and water, and continuing insecurity in displacement areas, which are mostly populated by women and children.
Reporting gender-based violence is challenging due to stigma, fear of retaliation, financial barriers, and distance to support services.
Three quarters of Sudanese women identified economic empowerment and livelihoods as their main priority, along with desires to return home, access basic health services, send their children to school, and find income-generating opportunities.
Falcione emphasized that these women are seeking self-sufficiency, not charity.
However, the report notes that current financial support is insufficient, with funding for protection and health sectors at just 14 percent and 11 percent respectively amid ongoing conflict and humanitarian needs.