Sudanese women activists and regional security experts have issued a forceful plea to governments in the Great Lakes region to intervene in Sudan’s worsening conflict, warning that a sharp rise in conflict-related sexual violence is leaving millions of women and girls exposed to severe and often unreported abuse.
The appeal was delivered during a workshop in Kampala, where Sudanese refugee women, officials from Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and experts from the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) convened to address the growing threats of digital violence and sexual abuse stemming from Sudan’s war.
International senior consultant on peace and security Dorah Byamukama said the meeting was intended to ensure that Sudanese women’s testimonies directly influence upcoming regional decisions.
“What is special today is that we are hearing directly from Sudanese women the refugees who fled the horrors of the conflict,” Byamukama said. “They have a voice, they have a message, and it is deeply touching.”
Byamukama cited new statistics showing that 12.1 million females in Sudan nearly 25% are now at risk of sexual and gender-based violence, describing the situation as a regional crisis demanding urgent action.
She noted that cultural pressures and insecurity continue to silence many survivors, even as reports indicate a 288% increase in documented cases.
She said findings from the Kampala workshop will be presented at next week’s high-level African Union–ICGLR meeting on Women, Peace and Security in Tunisia, where regional leaders are expected to deliberate on stronger protection and accountability measures.
Rayan Abdallah Mohmmed, a health officer with the Kabkabiya Emergency Room for Women, told participants that protracted wars in Sudan have dismantled essential social and security structures, leaving women and girls dangerously vulnerable.
She said countless survivors remain silent due to stigma, lack of services and fear of retaliation.
“Women and young girls have borne the heaviest burden of the conflict,” Mohmmed said, urging immediate regional intervention.
Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs pledged to raise the workshop’s recommendations at the African Union meeting scheduled for December 9–10.
Edith Namutebi Nsubuga, Head of the Ministry’s Regional Peace and Security Department, said the discussions were critical given the rise in both online and physical attacks against Sudanese women.
“We are convening this meeting for Sudanese women so we can openly discuss digital violence and conflict-related sexual violence,” Nsubuga said. “Sudan is undergoing a devastating conflict, and the scale of abuse is alarming.”
She warned that the breakdown of law and order in several parts of Sudan is enabling widespread impunity.
“The first casualty of war is law and order,” she said. “In many situations, sexual violence is weaponised to subjugate women, disempower them and disorganise communities.”
Nsubuga described the rise in sexual violence as “phenomenal in scale and brutality,” stressing that Uganda stands with Sudanese women “as they go through this difficult time.”
Byamukama said the region must strengthen cross-border protection systems, noting that women have endured the harshest consequences of the conflict, from displacement and physical abuse to economic loss.
“The current response is inadequate given the severity of the violence facing women and girls,” she said.
The women said they hope their testimonies will compel regional leaders to act swiftly as sexual violence continues to rise sharply across Sudan’s conflict-affected regions.