The Janjaweed have been responsible for the vast majority of the tens of thousands sexual assaults on women and girls; rape has become an extremely potent weapon of war. Victims of all ages are often scarred or branded, as here, to highlight the stigma that attaches to rape in conservative Durfuris cultures—all Muslim.
Fearful of Khartoum’s wrath, UNAMID very rarely reports incidents of rape, even as they are daily occurrences with immense consequences for girls, women, and their families.
Reflecting the paucity of UNAMID reporting, rape is little more than a footnote or a passing reference in Ban Ki-moon’s reports on Darfur. Sometimes he omits mention of sexual assaults entirely, again in deference to Khartoum. (Photograph by Mia Farrow)