Survivors of Sexual Violence in Wars Abandoned as Aid Dries Up.

photo by Anfaenger on pixabay.com

Cuts in humanitarian funding are leaving countless survivors of sexual violence in war zones without the essential medical and psychological support they need. Speaking before the U.N. Security Council, Pramila Patten, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, warned that shelters, clinics, and counseling services are shutting down precisely when demand is surging.

Across regions scarred by conflict, eastern Congo, Sudan, Ukraine, northeastern Ethiopia, and Gaza, the collapse of health infrastructure has become a second layer of trauma for victims. Survivors who have endured brutal assaults are now being turned away because basic care is unavailable. The erosion of humanitarian safety nets means that recovery, dignity, and protection are slipping out of reach.

The United Nations documented a sharp escalation in cases during 2024, with incidents rising by roughly 25% compared to the previous year. More than 4,600 survivors were verified, though officials stress that the true figure is far higher. While armed militias account for the majority of attacks, government forces have also been implicated in multiple contexts. Countries with the largest caseloads include the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Somalia, and South Sudan.

In the Central African Republic, reports catalogued instances of rape, forced marriage, sexual slavery, and gang assaults involving over 400 women and girls as well as several men. In eastern Congo, nearly 800 cases were documented in 2024 alone, many tied to the M23 insurgency around Goma. The number of survivors linked to this group rose from 43 in 2022 to 152 last year, highlighting the intensification of sexual violence as a weapon of war.

Sudan’s ongoing civil war paints an equally harrowing picture. Aid workers have recorded over 220 rapes since 2024, among them 147 girls and 74 boys. Shocking statistics show that 16% of survivors were under five years old, including toddlers as young as one. This chilling evidence underscores how sexual violence is used indiscriminately, targeting even the most defenseless.

Pramila Patten, the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, condemned the stark imbalance in global spending priorities. “The world spends more on arms in a single day than it devotes in an entire year to combating gender-based violence in conflict,” she stressed. Despite military budgets reaching record highs, lifesaving services for survivors are drying up.

The surge in conflict-related sexual violence, coupled with collapsing humanitarian aid, has created a dire human rights emergency. Survivors are denied not only medical and psychological assistance but also justice and dignity. Reversing the funding shortfall and prioritizing survivor-centered responses must become urgent global priorities if peace and recovery are to have any real chance.

written by Sara Maggetto