IRC concerned about the safety of women and girls fleeing South Kordofan

YIDA, South Sudan 05 Dec 2012 - The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is concerned about recent incidents of sexual violence reported by women and girls fleeing renewed conflict in Sudan’s South Kordofan state for the Yida refugee settlement in South Sudan. “We are concerned about the safety of women and girls fleeing conflict in South Kordofan and we are hearing reports of sexual assault while they are on the road to get here,” said Stephanie Puccetti, the IRC’s emergency women’s protection and empowerment manager in Yida. “The majority of the new arrivals in Yida are women and children. Many are exhausted and show signs of emotional distress following attacks and from having walked for days to reach the camp.” Even after they arrive in Yida, many women and girls remain at risk of sexual or other violence, Puccetti said.

More than 4,500 refugees have been registered in Yida in the last two weeks. To support the influx, the IRC is upgrading its women’s wellness center, which offers a reproductive health program and support services for survivors of sexual violence. The IRC is also increasing outreach activities to ensure that newly arrived women know about the services available to them when they register at the camp.

The IRC is the only service provider at the Yida settlement that focuses specifically on women and girls. More than 400 babies have been delivered in the wellness center since it opened in April of this year. “The services that we provide in Yida are critical to the well-being of pregnant women, babies, new mothers and survivors of sexual and domestic violence,” Puccetti said.

The IRC is working closely with UNHCR, the United Nations refugee agency, which funds IRC’s activities in Yida. It is expected that as many as 20,000 additional refugees will arrive by January.

Following disputed elections in South Kordofan in 2011, fighting erupted between rebels based in the region and the Sudanese army. Sudan has launched ground and air attacks in South Kordofan which coupled with food shortages have displaced 300,000 civilians, including more than 68,000 refugees.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war, persecution or natural disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure.

The IRC has been one of the largest providers of aid in South Sudan for over 20 years. Today we provide more than 600,000 people in six states—Central, Eastern and Western Equatoria, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Unity and Lakes—with vital services including health care, child survival programs, education, and sexual violence aid and prevention projects. For more information, visit http://www.rescue.org/irc-south-sudan-0.