Duchess shocked by sexual exploitation of refugees in Sudan

The Duchess of Edinburgh has described harrowing scenes of sexual exploitation after meeting refugees from the Sudanese civil war who had fled to neighboring Chad.

“People have to trade food and water for sex and rape. This is violence carried out through conflict. It is used as a negotiating tool,” said Sophie after a visit to this conflict-affected region of Africa.

She spoke to women who had traveled to Chad to escape conflict across the border in Sudan.

“These women have no choice but to leave. And even then, if some of them manage to escape, they are lucky because… if they leave their homes they will be killed,” said Sophie, who was moved to tears by the harrowing testimonies.

This was the first royal visit to Chad and the three-day trip, undertaken at the request of the British Foreign Office, was not officially announced until Monday when it came to an end.

The purpose of the visit, according to Buckingham Palace, was to draw attention to the deepening humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Sudan, which now poses challenges in neighboring Chad.

According to the palace, more than 10 million people have been forced from their homes by the conflict in Sudan, with women and children making up a high proportion of those now arriving as refugees in Chad.

“This is a massive human catastrophe and Chad must pick up the pieces even though it cannot afford it,” Sophie said.

At a medical center in Adre, near the border with Sudan, Sophie told the Press Association of the “devastating” experiences that had been described to her and how it had upset her.

“What they’re doing to the children is… I can’t even use the words,” she said.

Sophie had spoken to a woman who had fled a town in the West Darfur region of Sudan, where the population was facing threats and violence.

Her son and brothers were rounded up and taken away, and Sophie said the woman saw bodies piled up “like a wall” on the street.

The 59-year-old Duchess traveled to this part of Chad with UNICEF representatives and visited a refugee camp where almost a quarter of a million people had gathered, with many more coming from Sudan.

She spoke to the mother of a young child who had traveled for 10 days to get to safety, unaware of what had happened to her husband in the fighting.

“While the world and its attention are heavily focused on other conflicts around the world, the humanitarian crisis facing the people of Sudan and landing on the shores of Chad cannot be ignored,” the Duchess of Edinburgh said .

This is Sophie’s latest visit to highlight the issue of violence against women in times of armed conflict.

Earlier this year, she became the first queen to visit Ukraine since the Russian invasion.

Her travels often took in destinations not typically found on royal tours, including South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq and Sierra Leone.