Buses carrying Sudanese people near the Nile River in May. Sexual violence against boys and men is not new in Sudan, a UN co-ordinator said. EPA
Buses carrying Sudanese people near the Nile River in May. Sexual violence against boys and men is not new in Sudan, a UN co-ordinator said. EPA
Buses carrying Sudanese people near the Nile River in May. Sexual violence against boys and men is not new in Sudan, a UN co-ordinator said. EPA
Buses carrying Sudanese people near the Nile River in May. Sexual violence against boys and men is not new in Sudan, a UN co-ordinator said. EPA

Sexual violence against boys and men on the rise in Sudan amid conflict, UN says


Nada AlTaher
  • English
  • Arabic

Sexual violence against boys and men has risen during the ongoing crisis in Sudan, a UN official told The National on Wednesday.

Exact figures are not available to ensure confidentiality, but incidents have worsened amid the crisis, said Akiko Sakaue, co-ordinator of the gender-based violence sub-sector at the UN Population Fund.

Ms Sakaue is in charge of providing services for survivors of gender-based violence including medical, psychosocial and support in the form of shelters and safe spaces.

“We do receive male and boys survivors in conflict-affected states, although the majority of our services are designed for women,” she said.

Ms Akiko added that there are designated safe spaces for women and girls where they can go to talk about their experience and get assistance, but such spaces are not available to male victims.

“Due to the stigma, we don’t have such spaces for men and even if we did, it’s highly unlikely that they’d come to these spaces,” she said.

Sexual violence against boys and men is not a new phenomenon in Sudan, particularly in Darfur and Kordofan, she said.

Ms Akiko said she received a call from a colleague who told her of a male victim of sexual violence who refused to speak to anybody about his experience, except to “one friend”.

“They also have high suicidal tendencies,” she said, referring to male victims of sexual violence.

Female victims of sexual violence are usually hesitant to reach out for assistance at local hospitals, women’s shelters or the police, Ms Akiko said.

“Survivors hesitance and fear of being discovered by the perpetrator is extremely high so we have to take care of making sure that survivors will be treated in a safe and confidential manner and the will of survivors will be respected,” she said.

Since April 15, when the war between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and Sudanese army broke out, the number of people in need of gender-based violence assistance rose from 3.1 million to 4.2 million.

Less than 12 per cent of the funding needed to provide the $62.8 million in assistance for these people has been fulfilled, the UN said.

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Family: Wife and six children

Favourite holes at Al Ghazal: 15 and 8

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Childhood sport: cricket 

End of free parking

- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18

- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued

- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket

- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200. 

- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200

- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300

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First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2

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Date of launch: 2014

Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer

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Sector: Financial services

Size: 120 employees

Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)

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4,872 matches 

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

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15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

Abu Dhabi card

5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 2,400m

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The National selections:

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7pm: AF Mekhbat

7.30pm: Ezz Al Rawasi  

Juvenile arthritis

Along with doctors, families and teachers can help pick up cases of arthritis in children.
Most types of childhood arthritis are known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. JIA causes pain and inflammation in one or more joints for at least six weeks.
Dr Betina Rogalski said "The younger the child the more difficult it into pick up the symptoms. If the child is small, it may just be a bit grumpy or pull its leg a way or not feel like walking,” she said.
According to The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in US, the most common symptoms of juvenile arthritis are joint swelling, pain, and stiffness that doesn’t go away. Usually it affects the knees, hands, and feet, and it’s worse in the morning or after a nap.
Limping in the morning because of a stiff knee, excessive clumsiness, having a high fever and skin rash are other symptoms. Children may also have swelling in lymph nodes in the neck and other parts of the body.
Arthritis in children can cause eye inflammation and growth problems and can cause bones and joints to grow unevenly.
In the UK, about 15,000 children and young people are affected by arthritis.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What can you do?

Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses

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Sole survivors
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The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

hall of shame

SUNDERLAND 2002-03

No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.

SUNDERLAND 2005-06

Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.

HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19

Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.

ASTON VILLA 2015-16

Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.

FULHAM 2018-19

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LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.

BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66

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  • Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
  • John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
  • Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
  • Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
  • Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain. 
  • Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
  • James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
  • Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack. 
World Series

Game 1: Red Sox 8, Dodgers 4
Game 2: Red Sox 4, Dodgers 2
Game 3: Saturday (UAE)

* if needed

Game 4: Sunday
Game 5: Monday
Game 6: Wednesday
Game 7: Thursday

RACE CARD

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 (PA) Listed Dh230,000 1,600m
6.30pm: HH The President’s Cup (PA) Group 1 Dh2.5million 2,200m
7pm: HH The President’s Cup (TB) Listed Dh380,000 1,400m
7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap Dh70,000 1,200m.

RESULT

Wolves 1 (Traore 67')

Tottenham 2 (Moura 8', Vertonghen 90 1')

Man of the Match: Adama Traore (Wolves)

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

LOS ANGELES GALAXY 2 MANCHESTER UNITED 5

Galaxy: Dos Santos (79', 88')
United: Rashford (2', 20'), Fellaini (26'), Mkhitaryan (67'), Martial (72')

Water waste

In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.

Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.

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The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.

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UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

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Updated: February 26, 2025, 5:41 AM`