Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group (GiHA WG) Sudan Humanitarian Response: Draft Terms of Reference

Background and Context Setting

After years of protracted crisis, Sudan plunged into a conflict of alarming scale in mid-April 2023 when fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group, broke out initially in the capital Khartoum, and quickly expanded to other areas across the country. The current crisis and heightened insecurity have resulted in a growing level of human casualties, with more than 12,000 fatalities and physical injuries. Khartoum has been the site of heavy fighting, while severe violent clashes and heavy bombardments have also been reported in the greater Darfur and Kordofan regions. The escalating hostilities have resulted in extensive damage to critical infrastructure and facilities, including water and healthcare, the collapse of banking and financial services, frequent interruptions to electricity supply and telecommunication services and widespread looting. The conflict created massive displacement, with over 1.3 million seeking refuge in neighboring countries and 4.85 million internally displaced, over half of whom are children and 54% are women. Moreover, as per the 2024 Sudan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, 15% of Sudan's population in need (24.8 million people) and targeted (14.7 million people) are persons with disabilities and 5% of the two above mentioned groups are older people. They are also at heightened risk of exclusion, sexual and economic exploitation, violence, and abuse. The on-going conflict’s risk to the protection of civilians are among the main features of this conflict.

The impacts of the Sudan humanitarian crisis is not gender neutral, with disproportionate impacts on women and girls, their access to humanitarian assistance and their meaningful participation in shaping service provision priorities. Increasing reports of gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence are widespread and the space for women and girls’ voice to inform effective programming to meet their immediate and emergency needs is shrinking. Women and girls, particularly in conflict-affected regions such as Darfur states, Kordofan states and Khartoum, are exposed to elevated risk of sexual violence, kidnapping and limited access to available humanitarian assistance. The humanitarian access impediments for women and girls are less systematically monitored and tracked in conflict analysis and fed into programming. As Sudan is currently at risk of looming famine, high levels of food insecurity will have disproportionate impact on the lives of women and girls. The gender gap stems from inequities between men and women that result in women having less power and access to food production, supplies, and other essential resources related to food which is exacerbated during humanitarian crises and emergencies. Just as these constraints frame food insecurity for women and girls, they also frame the risk of gender-based violence (GBV), including sexual exploitation. The gender dimensions of food insecurity in emergency situations not only exacerbates both food insecurity and gender-based violence independently, but also establishes a direct correlation between escalating food insecurity and heightened risks of gender-based violence, disproportionately affecting women and girls.

As existing gender inequalities are exacerbated during humanitarian emergencies, it is critical for humanitarian action across all Clusters, Working Groups and people-centered emergency interventions to be informed by the different and distinct needs of women, girls, men and boys to ensure effective and fit for purpose humanitarian programming. Clusters and Working Groups should make gender equality a central priority in response plans, which will guide project partners in designing projects that meet the distinct needs of women, girls, boys and men equally/equitably.

Humanitarian actors have an obligation to promote gender equality through humanitarian actions in line with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s (IASC) Gender Equality and Women Empowerment in Humanitarian Action (2024), the Agenda for Humanity from the World Humanitarian Summit (2016). Humanitarian actors also have an obligation to support women’s and girls’ protection, participation and empowerment through targeted actions, as articulated in the Women, Peace and Security thematic agenda as outlined in United Nations Security Council Resolutions. It is against this background is establishing an inter-agency Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group (GiHA WG) as an inter-agency Working Group that focuses to provide gender equality technical and coordination support to the Inter-Cluster Coordination Group (ICCG) and Humanitarian Country Team (HCT).