Anguish as rape survivors in Sudan unable to access vital medication

Rape survivors in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, are struggling to get hold of emergency contraception and abortion medication.

Access to a warehouse where 47,000 medical post-rape kits are stored has been cut off since the conflict began in April. Women are using social media to share information about where to find drugs to prevent pregnancies and infections – or are using herbal remedies.

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA), which supplies the kits, said it could not say which forces, the Sudanese army or the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), were preventing access to the building.

Post-rape kits are often distributed in conflict situations. They include emergency medication, such as the morning-after pill, and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), used to prevent HIV infection. Abortion pills may also be administered to some survivors at a later date, but are not usually included in the kit.

Sulaima Ishaq, the director of the Sudanese government’s Combating Violence Against Women Unit, said that, while there are limited supplies of PEP in some clinics in the city, “we have no ways to prevent pregnancies”, she said.

“Rapes are happening everywhere,” said Ishaq. “What is officially reported is likely just a small fraction of the cases.”

Last month, UNFPA reported that more than 5,000 post-rape kits had been delivered to Port Sudan, but it had not been able to move the medication west to Khartoum or Darfur, where the fighting is concentrated. Attacks on medical warehouses in South Darfur have also depleted medical supplies.

Enass Muzamel, an activist working with rape survivors in Khartoum, said access to post-rape care has become a “privilege”. “Everything is now happening through informal networks. Women are communicating through groups on social media, sharing resources and medication they happen to have,” she said.

“Many women are turning to traditional methods. They are making vaginal washes from herbs. One woman I know was raped by three men, she doesn’t know whether or not she’s pregnant. She was not able to access the right medication.”

Muzamel said she was contacted by the family of a 17-year-old whose home had been raided by RSF soldiers. “They found her sleeping and raped her. Eventually, we managed to find a local hospital doctor who still had medication and was able to visit the girl in her house, but it took us nine hours.”

Supplies of emergency contraception and abortion medication were scarce before the war, as abortion is not legal in the country, Muzamel added.

Some women who have fled the capital to safer areas have been able to access emergency contraception through the Sudan Family Planning Association, said Limiaa Khalfalla, the organisation’s programme director. The organisation has been offering health services in displacement camps via 11 mobile clinics, but is unable to say how many rape survivors they have offered support to.

Some Sudanese women are attempting to smuggle medication from abroad. One anonymous activist said they are preparing to cross the border with supplies. “I hope it will work,” they said. “But I have to be careful as it is a crime that could send me to prison for 10 years.”

cover photo:The UN has said, despite post-rape kits being delivered to Port Sudan, it has been unable to get them to Khartoum. Photograph: Tim McKulka/UNFPA