Sexual assault has been rampant in Sudan’s war and yet it remains a taboo subject. For weeks ahead of an AP team’s reporting trip to Sudan to mark three years of the war that has become the world’s largest humanitarian challenge, correspondent Sam Mednick reached out to women’s groups to build trust and find people willing to grant interviews, which are very rare and extremely difficult.
While other outlets had addressed sexual assault in Sudan, the AP team went further, sharing painfully intimate testimonies that describe a system in which fighters abduct women, rape them and demand that they buy their freedom by asking loved ones for ransom money. In some cases, women are raped while on the phone pleading for help. The women blamed members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces waging war against Sudan’s military.
Reporting access and movement within Sudan are difficult as fighting continues, requiring government permission. The reporting was done in very challenging circumstances and required the AP team, also including photographer Bernat Armangue and video journalist Fay Abuelgasim, to be on the ground for more than two weeks.
Even once trust was established for interviews, reaching the women was a challenge. Some of the women were not in the capital Khartoum, which presented another logistical challenge in getting them to grant interviews over the phone. Most women did not want to be photographed, and no one wanted to go on camera. The team worked with illustrator Peter Hamlin to create visuals that brought the women’s stories to life while making sure cultural considerations were addressed, down to the teacups depicted.
The reporting brought to light an issue that is often overlooked and which brings lots of stigma. It was featured in dozens of outlets. The United Nations also reached out to learn more about the women and to see if they had received help.
The judges were impressed by the team’s tenacity, creativity and bravery in newsgathering in very challenging circumstances.
For a sensitively told and executed story with huge attention to detail, Mednick, Armangue, Abuelgasim and Hamlin win this week’s Best of AP — Second Winner.
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