00:03Sudan plunged into civil war in April 2023, which has spiraled into what the United Nations
00:09calls the world's most devastating humanitarian crisis. The Sudan representative for the UN's
00:15Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency told Euronews she has never seen conflict-related
00:21sexual violence on such a large scale. In this conflict, sexual violence is being
00:27clearly utilized as a form of war, of warfare itself, and women are the ones who are paying
00:40the price. Parties to the conflict commit sexual violence and rape women and girls to, quote,
00:47disintegrate or somehow make a long-lasting wound on communities, as women tend to be the ones keeping
00:53families and communities together, the UNFPA representative says. In addition to the trauma,
00:59injuries, the risk of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies, sexual violence survivors
01:06often face stigma. As the UN and as UNFPA, we work with the communities at large, we work with the
01:12families, we work with women and men, we work with boys as well, we work with the youth to overcome
01:21the stigma. Unfortunately, stigma that is related to sexual violence exists everywhere.
01:28Humanitarian workers also provide sexual and reproductive health services in displacement camps,
01:34mobile health units, and safe spaces for women and girls. Over 9 million people remain internally
01:40displaced across Sudan. Fabrizia Falcione stresses women want to return to the communities they came
01:46from, but to do so, they need basic services such as job opportunities and basic health services.
01:53Although a number of crises are happening globally, she stresses the light on Sudan cannot go out.
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