Fearing for their lives, hundreds of thousands of women and children have fled war-torn Darfur only to find themselves victims of sexual assault and rape. The violence against women and children by the warring groups is reaching alarming levels.

The genocide began in Sudan's Darfur in 2003. Now, five years later, women and children have displaced in camps, towns, and rural areas. Yet, it is in these would be safe-haven areas where women and children are extremely vulnerable to sexual violence as a result of either attacks on

civilians or during "times of calm". Such culprits of these attacks are have been reported by some to be men from the Sudanese security forces, militias, rebel groups, and former rebel groups generally targeting women and girls from Fur, Zaghawa, Masalit, Berti, Tunjur, and other non-Arab ethnicities.

The culprits of these heinous acts have no fear of being caught or even investigated because they know that for them the silence of their victims is golden. Darfur women and girls, out of fear and cultural restraints, often do not seek medical treatment because reporting of sexual assaults is mandatory. The report requires not only the victim's name but the culprit's as well. The lack of confidentiality prevents survivors from seeking available medical and psychological treatments AND allows the culprit to do it again without fear of retribution.

Important links and resources:
Five Years On: No Justice for Sexual Violence in Darfur
Am I Not Human? Roots of Humanity
Original Post: Global Day for Darfur
Bloggers Unite...Blogging for Hope
Amnesty International

Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner('s Place) ain't got nothing more to say. ~~SjP

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