Supporting Sudanese Women to access Gender Based Violence recovery services.

Like most Sudanese women, the women in Blue Nile state don’t usually take any legal action in response to violence against women or sexual harassment. They are afraid of getting into trouble and due to the ongoing conflict in Sudan, systems are not in place to protect them or respond after they are exposed to violence

To strengthen the women's movement in the Blue Nile region, the Sudanese Organization for Development and Research (SORD), with funding support from the UN Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund, is implementing the "Sustainable Peace" project.

UN Women and UN reports a 100% increase of women and girls in need of GBV services since the conflict began, with 6.8 million women seeking the services up from 3.1 million. . From January to July 2024, there was a 288% surge in GBV survivors seeking case management. Despite increased need, the GBV sector is severely underfunded, receiving only 25% of the required funding. Widespread conflict- related sexual violence (CRSV) reports have been documented with cases of rape, gang rape, sexual slavery, abductions, and forced marriages in Khartoum, Darfur, Al Jazira, and Kordofan. Unwanted pregnancies and children born of rape are increasing. Survival sex and exploitation has also been reported by women and girls, where they trade sex for food and internet access. Targeted threats against women human rights defenders (WHRDs) and female humanitarians are also escalating.

Entisar Suliman, a lawyer from the Women Awareness group (Awoon) a partner with UN Women in the Red Sea State, which has the same cases on the ground, said, “The most significant issues faced by women are breaking the barrier of reporting cases of sexual violence, as they feel stigmatized and do not benefit from services offered to survivors. Prevention is crucial, and raising awareness through reporting and complaints can help convict perpetrators and prevent punishment.”

To respond to the rising need, UN Women Sudan is working to protect women from violence and enhance access to justice in Blue Nile communities through a project supported by the Peace Building Fund (PBF). The project started in 2020 and has achieved great success, including empowering women, strengthening the link between women's issues and community concerns, and establishing women's protection networks registered at the Ministry of Welfare in three localities.

Six communities of health care service providers were trained on gender-based violence and how to handle cases, manage them, and refer them. This training, done by SORD and supported by UN Women Sudan led to the establishment of six community protection networks through community radio in Arabic and local dialects.

Three Community dialogues were held at the local level and one at the state level on economic and social natural resource management, protection, and peacebuilding. The service providers were also trained on leadership, negotiation skills the art of negotiation, and accountability.

Ms. Suliman added,” Before the war, we provided legal aid, awareness-raising, psychological counseling, and filing legal cases on behalf of women survivors. After the war, we continued to support women in displacement and migration in shelter centers. We supported income-generating projects for 60 survivors, patients, and low-income people, funded by UN Women.”

Awoon aims to use this space to work with decision-makers to sensitize them to women's rights, protect them, achieve protection, and avoid impunity. They also aim to work with communities by sensitizing them to the right to physical integrity and security before and after the war and putting pressure on decision-makers to change laws that do not meet current needs.

The Sustainable Peace project has trained 290 police sectors, judiciary legal aid, community leaders, and women groups on international and national law related to the protection of women from GBV and the investigation of survivors of GBV. Police and justice sector workers in the Blue Nile region are now well-informed about UN Women's objectives and maintain positive relationships with Women's Lead Organizations (WLO) at the regional level.