They fled war in Sudan. Now, women in refugee camps say they’re being forced to have sex to survive

They fled war, now female Sudanese refugees say they’re being forced to have sex to survive

Rendered vulnerable by the war and abused, female Sudanese refugee in Chad recount how they were faced with more suffering: being forced to have sex to survive.

Sudanese women forced into 'sex for survival' in refugee camps in Chad

Hundreds of thousands of people, most of them women, have streamed into Chad to escape Sudan's civil war, which has killed over 20,000 people.

Women who fled Sudan war say they are being forced to have sex in refugee camps

Sexual exploitation during large humanitarian crises is not uncommon, especially in displacement sites. Aid groups have long struggled to combat the issue.

They fled war in Sudan. Now, women in refugee camps say they’re being forced to have sex to survive

Some women who fled the war in Sudan say they face sexual exploitation as refugees in Chad. They say that men in displacement sites — including humanitarian workers and local security forces — have offered them money, easier access to assistance and jobs.

They fled war in Sudan. Now, women in refugee camps say they're being forced to have sex to survive

Some women who fled the war in Sudan say they face sexual exploitation as refugees in Chad.

Sudanese refugees in Chad face sexual exploitation to survive

ADRE, Chad – Crossing into Chad, the 27-year-old thought she’d left the horrors of Sudan’s war behind: the bodies she ran over while fleeing, the screams of girls being raped, the disappearance of her husband when gunmen attacked. But now she says she has faced more suffering — being forced as a refugee to have sex to get by. She cradled her seven-week-old son, who she asserted was the child of an aid worker who promised her money in exchange…