Sudan’s Women Face Lasting Trauma and Rising Attacks a Year After El Fasher Atrocities

Images from El Fasher a year ago revealed violence against women and girls that included gang rape, beatings, humiliation and theft, with some women and girls taken away and still missing, leaving families without answers about their fate.

Women and girls displaced from El Fasher in North Darfur continue to face trauma, unsafe living conditions and limited access to essential support a year after atrocities in the city were broadcast to the world, according to findings released by UN Women from a survey of 50 women's organizations. The organizations described families struggling with the effects of sexual violence, missing relatives, killings and the loss of homes and livelihoods, with many women unable to sleep or find the food, water and healthcare they need to rebuild their lives.

UN Women also reported increasing drone attacks across Blue Nile State, Khartoum, West Kordofan, Gedaref State and the Khashm al-Girba area in Kassala State, saying most people killed or injured were women and children, many of whom had already fled violence or were attempting to return home.

Displaced women face persistent trauma with little support

Nine in ten organizations surveyed by UN Women described unsafe living conditions for displaced women and girls, and 49 of the 50 had observed signs of psychological distress among those displaced from El Fasher. Forty-five organizations, or 90 per cent, said that distress persists, and 48 reported women being unable to sleep because of the trauma they had experienced, showing how the consequences of violence continue to shape daily life a year later. Around two-thirds of the organizations knew of women or girls who disappeared during or after the fall of El Fasher, adding the uncertainty of missing family members to the grief of those whose relatives were killed.

Access to help remains severely restricted, with 43 organizations having encountered women or girls in distress who had received no mental health, psychosocial or legal support since fleeing, and nearly half saying few or none of the women they assist could obtain such services. Providers of essential services, including mental health support and healthcare, face threats of arrest and harassment as they carry out their work without protection, creating further barriers for people already struggling to find assistance.

Fear and attacks restrict access to everyday necessities

Some people have begun returning to El Fasher, where fear of violence continues to restrict women's movements and their ability to take part in community life or obtain necessities. The International Organization for Migration's 2026 Sudan Multi-Sectoral Needs Assessment found that, among 117 households surveyed in Al Fasher, 84 per cent said women avoided marketplaces, around two-thirds said they avoided collecting firewood, and half reported avoidance of social, community or religious spaces.

Reports cited by UN Women describe hospitals lacking the doctors and medicines needed to provide care beyond emergencies, alongside shortages of food and other basic goods that make returning home difficult. Across Sudan, drone attacks on displacement camps, markets and other civilian infrastructure are killing and injuring civilians, disrupting services and livelihoods, and forcing further displacement, with UN Women warning that people fleeing violence have nowhere safe to turn.

The UN Fact-Finding Mission found that 80 per cent of hospitals in conflict-affected areas were not functioning, contributing to rising maternal deaths and restricting women's access to sexual and reproductive healthcare.

Women's organizations sustain communities and press for peace

Women across Sudan serve as frontline responders, caregivers, mediators and peacebuilders amid the collapse of institutions, reaching communities that other responders cannot access despite insecurity and persistent funding shortages that threaten their work.

UN Women supports these organizations through lifesaving assistance and investment in women's leadership, working with grassroots networks to strengthen skills in dialogue, negotiation, conflict analysis, mediation and advocacy so women can resolve disputes, reduce tensions and influence community decisions.

Marking 26 years since the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 1325, which established the foundation of the Women, Peace and Security agenda, UN Women stressed that Sudanese women's experiences and contributions must inform efforts to restore peace and security.

The organization called for civilian protection, accountability for perpetrators and compliance with international humanitarian and human rights law, alongside access to essential services and resources, meaningful participation by women in decisions about Sudan's future, and sustained support for women leaders and organizations working on the front lines.