West Africa correspondent Sam Mednick exposed for the first time how Sudanese women and girls are being sexually exploited in refugee camps in Chad — often by the people who are supposed to protect them. The story revealed that women and girls are being forced to have sex by humanitarians, security forces and locals, in exchange for jobs, money and easier access to aid. While many journalists have been to Adre, along the Sudanese border, most stories from the area have focused on people’s accounts of what happened in Sudan. Few have looked at what happens once they cross into Chad. Mednick wanted to focus on something that hadn’t been reported. She spent months before the trip speaking with people on the ground, trying to understand what challenges refugees were facing and which stories weren’t being told. She also knew from reporting on other humanitarian crises, that exploitation in displacement sites was common, yet rarely discussed. Despite being repeatedly told that no one would want to talk to her, Mednick was able to find women willing to tell their stories within a few days. Mednick wrote, took photos and filmed the story herself. MSF said it will investigate the cases that AP brought forward. One aid group said they’d send the story to Angelina Jolie’s team, to make her aware of the situation.
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