“Just praying that we keep surviving”: forced displacement and gendered violence, from Sudan to South Sudan

Content warning: This article contains discussion of sexual violence, including direct quotes from survivors.

War erupted in Sudan in April 2023, leading to widespread forced displacement, extreme rates of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), destruction of homes and property, and mass killings. To date, approximately 1 million people have crossed the Sudanese border into South Sudan in search of safety. Many of these are ‘returnees’, people who originally migrated to Sudan due to the South Sudanese war (2013-2020). Now, having been repeatedly displaced in both directions across the border between Sudan and South Sudan, returnees and refugees alike are struggling to survive in highly constrained and challenging conditions, while the repeated physical and mental trauma they endured in both South Sudan and Sudan remains unaddressed.

UNHCR map of displaced persons in South Sudan

In July 2024, our team launched a research project aiming to understand the experiences of those forcibly displaced from Sudan to South Sudan. We were especially concerned with the high rates of SGBV reported, the role that SGBV played in displacement, experiences of SGBV during flight, and risks of gendered violence in the South Sudanese settlements. Using  ‘sensemaking’ methodology, the STEWARDWOMEN team worked on the border of Aweil North for two weeks, gathering stories and participants’ self-interpretation of these stories to better understand links between SGBV and forced displacement, and to uncover the most pressing needs of those living in precarity along the border.

This post is based on 695 shared narratives shared by displaced people in Aweil North, South Sudan.  It centres the observations and analyses of STEWARDWOMEN researchers, who put their own comfort, well-being, and safety on the line to bring forward the voices of those whose most pressing survival needs are not being met and who have had few opportunities to share their stories.

Sexual and gender-based violence during forced displacement

It was when life became difficult and threatening in Sudan day and night that we decided to leave for South Sudan. (displaced woman in South Sudan, interviewed August 2024)

Rampant violence was what led most participants to leave Sudan and make the journey to South Sudan. This included SGBV, which over half of participants said was a big factor in their decision to journey across the border. Participants described rape, gang rape, abduction for forced marriage and sexual slavery, along with beatings and killings, as threats to their well-being and safety. It was not uncommon for women to describe extreme sexual violence that upended social norms. One STEWARDWOMEN researcher was told of a situation in which a very old woman, a grandmother, was gang-raped by youth who looked to be the same age as her grandsons. The rape itself was traumatic enough, but the young age of the perpetrators also signalled a breakdown in age-related social norms that shook this woman deeply. She was not the only woman to share similar experiences:

Many participants described how their families were torn apart during the journey from Sudan to South Sudan, and stated they did not know where their loved ones were:

Life in the South Sudanese temporary settlements

In the Aweil North temporary settlement, the STEWARDWOMEN team found conditions that could only be described as shocking. Refugees and returnees are meant to stay in this area for only a short time until they are resettled by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), but many people had been there for three months or longer. Some had been registered as refugees or returnees, others had not. All were struggling to survive without adequate food or shelter, and with no access to desperately needed healthcare. Because of looting and robbery on the road, many arrived without any food, clothing, or supplies. At the time the STEWARDWOMEN team met them, they had been left for months with almost no support.

A makeshift reed and tarpaulin shelter in a transit settlement. Credit: STEWARDWOMEN.

The team visited the area during the rainy season; much of the area was flooded and people were wading through water. Without access to toilets or sanitary facilities, people’s dignity had been further eroded, and the risk of disease was extremely high.

The closest comprehensive health facility is well over 100 km away in Aweil Centre. This is where SGBV survivors must go to access most healthcare services, including sexual and reproductive healthcare, yet many people living in this area have suffered injuries that make this trek impossible. STEWARDWOMEN put out calls to open up referral pathways to find support, but with extremely limited services available in the region, few safe or maintained roads, and resources diverted elsewhere, there were no viable options to secure support for those sheltering in this area.

Along the newest border in the world, important distinctions are being made between ‘returnees’ and ‘refugees’, with vulnerabilities identified for both groups. Returnees face discrimination by the community, often being told that they “chose to go to Sudan, why are you coming back here?” Refugees feel unsafe and vulnerable, related in large part to long-established regional and ethnic tensions that fueled the split of South Sudan from Sudan in 2011. Women and girls who have been raped face further stigma, often labelled “wives of rebels of Sudan”. With registration and resettlement sporadic, refugees and returnees alike live in a liminal state, without community or support in South Sudan and unable to go back to Sudan.

What needs to be done

Increased aid and humanitarian support are urgently needed in Aweil North. The STEWARDWOMEN team encountered many graves in and around the settlement, including the graves of children who had died from illness, injury, or malnutrition. The situation in the settlement is dire, with many displaced people sleeping under trees and in makeshift shelters, without even a carpet or a tent. Humanitarian agencies and the South Sudanese government must spread efforts out along the entire border region: wherever people cross, humanitarian needs are high.

Resettlement efforts must be increased and people moved out of the transit centres quickly. Transit centres should also be moved to areas less prone to flooding, and, at a minimum, temporary and emergency health facilities should be built and staffed. Virtually all respondents had suffered physical and emotional trauma; therefore, medical care and psychosocial support are critical needs.

Following rape, witnessing loved ones killed, losing homes and possessions, those displaced from Sudan now endure dire living conditions and a near total absence of support. The displaced persons showed generosity and courage in telling us what they have endured. Their suffering is a call to action—it is our collective responsibility to respond, with urgency and compassion.