Mali: rising sexual violence in displacement camps and conflict zones
Mali: rising sexual violence in displacement camps and conflict zones
As ongoing insecurity and forced displacement persist across central and northern Mali, women face increasingly elevated risks of gender-based violence, an urgent warning from a United Nations agency reveals.
Presenting the findings from a recent survey conducted in May, the United Nations agency dedicated to sexual and reproductive health matters, UNFPA, confirmed a concerning surge in sexual violence incidents within internally displaced persons’ sites and active conflict zones. The report specifically highlighted instances of sexual exploitation, harassment, and forced marriage.
This heightened vulnerability unfolds amidst a critical humanitarian backdrop in various Central Sahel localities. Women, in particular, are not only exposed to severe risks of sexual violence but are also deprived of adequate access to essential sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services.
According to the UN agency, May 2025 witnessed a significant escalation of armed violence, particularly across the Timbuktu, Gao, Mopti, and Ménaka regions, marked by a resurgence of armed group attacks. Such widespread violence has triggered further massive displacements.
Access to vital health services remains critically restricted
The population of internally displaced persons has nearly reached 380,000, a stark increase from 330,000 in May 2024, representing an almost 15% rise. UNFPA emphasized that ‘women and girls are at the epicenter of these vulnerabilities, disproportionately impacted by the prevailing insecurity and humanitarian crisis.’
Out of the 6.4 million individuals requiring humanitarian assistance, more than half are women and girls. Many of these reside in areas where access to essential protection and healthcare services is severely constrained, the agency reported.
Alarmingly, less than a quarter of health facilities in crisis-affected regions currently provide comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare or essential support for survivors of gender-based violence.
Nationwide, almost half of specialized services in this crucial area remain inaccessible. The most severely impacted regions include Gao (76%), Ménaka (77%), Mopti (56%), and Timbuktu (80%).
On the ground, UNFPA teams are actively scaling up their humanitarian response. This involves supporting 86 health facilities, establishing six safe spaces specifically for women and girls, and operating seven one-stop centers across the most affected central and northern regions, including Ségou, Mopti, Gao, Timbuktu, and Ménaka.
Colossal funding gap threatens vital aid
Throughout May alone, mobile health teams successfully delivered sexual and reproductive health services and gender-based violence prevention programs to nearly 3,000 individuals in displacement camps. A significant 80% of these beneficiaries were women and young girls.
Midwives provided crucial prenatal, postnatal, and delivery care, while dignity kits and reproductive health supplies were distributed in areas impacted by both floods and ongoing conflicts.
Across Mali, approximately 900,000 women and girls are identified as targets for reproductive health services or vital programs aimed at combating sexual violence.
Despite these efforts, the humanitarian response remains severely underfunded. From this year’s funding appeal totaling $16.5 million, UNFPA has only secured $2.9 million. Consequently, the agency’s teams are grappling with a ‘colossal deficit of $13.5 million’ crucial for assisting thousands of women and girls in dire need.
Without urgent, additional funding, the scope and sustainability of sexual violence prevention programs and reproductive health services in Mali are critically jeopardized.