Doctors Without Borders says its staff sexually abused Sudanese refugees in Chad
Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) acknowledged that its staff sexually abused or exploited at least 59 Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad, according to the charity’s own internal investigation reported by the Associated Press. The abuses, some involving young girls, date to 2024, roughly a year into Sudan’s civil war, and frequently took the form of food or work offered in exchange for sex. MSF said it dismissed 18 staff but could not identify some other alleged perpetrators.
The internal report, completed in July, found patterns that it suggested might amount to “sexual trafficking.” It followed an AP investigation published in November 2024 that documented aid workers and local security forces demanding sex from displaced Sudanese women in return for jobs and assistance.
The case points to a structural failure as much as individual misconduct: MSF conceded that some victims stayed silent for fear of losing access to aid, that those who did report sometimes got no response, and that its formal complaint channels were largely ineffective — the conditions that let exploitation persist in camps where survival depends on the people accused.