( CNN ) -- An American human rights group documenting widespread sexual violence against Darfuri women in Sudan and Chad has called for `` vigorous prosecution of rape as a war crime . '' Sudanese women in a refugee camp in southern Chad in March . Physicians for Human Rights , based in Cambridge , Massachusetts , issued a report Sunday `` documenting the scope and long-term impact of rape and other sexual violence '' experienced by women who fled the war-torn Sudanese region of Darfur and now live as refugees in neighboring Chad . The report -- titled `` Nowhere To Turn : Failure To Protect , Support and Assure Justice for Darfuri Women '' -- is based on interviews with 88 female refugees living in Chad 's Farchana refugee camp . The study was done with the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative . `` Many Darfuri women refugees live in a nightmare of memories of past trauma compounded by the constant threat of sexual violence around the camps now , '' said Susannah Sirkin , the physician group 's deputy director . `` Women who report being raped are stigmatized , and remain trapped in places of perpetual insecurity . There 's no one to stop the rapes , no one to turn to for justice for past or ongoing crimes , and little psycho-social support to address their prolonged and unimaginable traumas . '' Dr. Sondra Crosby , a Physicians for Human Rights consultant and expert in refugee trauma , said `` the atmosphere of intimidation was palpable as we listened to women describing their profound suffering and fear , and their yearning to return safely and with dignity to their former lives . '' Of those refugees interviewed , `` 32 reported instances of confirmed or highly probable rape '' -- 17 in Darfur and 15 in Chad , the group said . `` Among the instances of rape reported in Chad , the vast majority ( 10 of 11 confirmed reports ) occurred when women left the camps to gather firewood . '' And just over half of the 88 women interviewed -- 46 of them -- live in fear of sexual assaults around the refugee camp . The group supports the issuing of International Criminal Court warrants against the Sudanese perpetrators . The group also called for `` legal reforms in Chad to end impunity for sexual violence , '' and for `` effective psychosocial support to survivors . '' And it said increased protections are needed by police and peacekeepers , including `` effective firewood patrols . '' The conflict in Darfur began in 2003 after rebels in the western region of Sudan began attacking government positions . Sudan 's government responded with a fierce military campaign that has led to some 200,000 deaths and forced 2 million people to flee their homes , according to the United Nations .
200,000 Sondra Crosby women interviewed in Darfur described `` profound '' suffering and fear . Expert in refugee trauma says `` the atmosphere of intimidation was palpable '' 88 people have died , 2 million have fled the region since fighting began in Sunday .