Justice for the Forgotten: Saving the Women of Darfur

Abstract

Since 2003, Darfur has lost nearly half of its six million inhabitants. As many as 500,000 people have been slaughtered, 2.2 million have been displaced, and an untold number have been savagely raped—all victims of a brutal five-year genocide orchestrated by the Sudanese government. The women of Darfur have borne the brunt of the violence: constantly targeted for rape, left physically and emotionally broken. The use of rape as a weapon of war should have shocked the conscience of the world, but we have failed to act, and instead have allowed the women of Darfur to be victimized repeatedly. This note argues that the international community must take two steps to save the women of Darfur: (1) continue criminal prosecutions of those responsible for the genocide in the International Criminal Court and (2) immediately undertake humanitarian solutions in Darfur, including aid disbursement, reparations, military intervention, and political pressure. It is only by combining legal and restorative solutions that the forgotten women of Darfur will truly receive justice.