The Secret Evil

Darfur had fallen off the world's radar screen until last week, when the Obama administration opted to begin a more progressive engagement with the Sudanese government - the merits of which remain uncertain. The administration's special Sudan envoy, Scott Gration, likens Obama's approach as a "carrot and stick" attempt to get Sudanese president Omar Bashir to deal more effectively with the devastation and criminal neglect still inflicted upon the average person in Darfur.That's all well and good, but there remains one deep and sinister practice condoned by the Sudanese government that screams for attention but whose voice seems to dissipate into a deep void.Rape is a tragic trait in most conflicts, but in Sudan it takes on a sinister quality, in part because it transpires in such remote regions that the world never knows. Non-governmental organizations, funded by larger agencies like the United Nations, built in loose structures of support to assist rape victims in their protection and rehabilitation. Development and human rights workers, always prone to acronyms and shortened forms of speech, refer to it as GBV - Gender Based Violence. As terrible as the situation in Darfur was during the murderous days following 2004, there was always a certain consolation that victims of rape were at least being treated.Things took an unfortunate turn when Bashir, in reaction to being indicted by the International Criminal Court, turned on his own people, in part by kicking out numerous humanitarian organizations he claimed were giving secret evidence to the court itself. Sadly, some of the NGOs were the agencies assisting with GBV. Rape was already systemic before their ousting, but the diabolical practice of sexual rape is now moving ahead unabated. Those agencies that do attempt to assist the victims report being harassed by government officials, who most often claim these NGOs are hurling empty allegations when they report mass rapes in Darfur. The Norwegian Refugee Council was kicked out of Darfur after publishing a report on the prevalence of rape, condoned by the government. Bashir claimed the findings were false and the head of MSF-Holland was arrested after his agency reported widespread cases of rape.Without a support network to assist them, rape victims who dare to report such a crime run the risk of prosecution for adultery if they can't prove they didn't consent to the act. How can they possibly prove that? If sentenced, public lashings could ensue or, on rare occasions, stoning. Following the shame of it all, how does a woman then make her own way in life? With no sure source of income, she has to rely on the meagre possessions of friends or family in a region that hardly has any resources at all.The UN is attempting to bring on more "gender desk officers" - female police officers with little experience in GBV. All recent efforts to provide a sufficient support network for victims of GBV hardly measure up to the formidable task brought on by Bashir's acts of national and international lawlessness. This was a case where the West, in indicting Bashir at the ICC, actually created conditions where sexual violence and rape took on tragic proportions. While millions of dollars and expert witnesses went into the indictment, virtually nothing was granted to these women who suffer evil's deep secret. If the Responsibility to Protect doctrine can't protect these women from the deepest shame imaginable, what good is it? How can it possibly boast of effectiveness? If it was our mother or daughter, we would scream from the rooftops, not for a hearing, but for action. These women of Darfur are just screaming. Does anybody hear?