Preventing Gender-based Violence in South Sudan

South Sudan became the world’s newest country in 2011, but after just two years, fell into civil war. IsraAID has been active in vulnerable communities since the new state was founded, modifying and expanding activities to fit the ever-changing needs of thousands of displaced families. Our approach is an integrated one as for displaced communities it’s impossible to separate nutrition challenges, access to healthcare, and mental health support.

Sustained conflict and natural disasters, such as droughts, famine, seasonal floods, and cholera and malaria outbreaks, have resulted in an estimated 1.6 million internally displaced persons (IDPs). Around 172,000 people live in and around six current and former Protection of Civilians (POCs) camps, settling in the proximity of the POCs, churches, schools, abandoned factories, and other so-called collective sites, or moving into spontaneous settlements and villages further from the fighting.

Since the establishment of the Juba IDP camp in 2014, over 32,000 people have settled in the area seeking protection, however reports of sexual and gender-based violence have increased, as well as high risk levels of physical and psychological trauma. Due to the semi-temporary nature of the settlement and multiple relocations to seek better living conditions or flee violence, women, girls and people with disabilities remain exposed to sexual-based violence, both inside displacement sites and outside when collecting fuel or food. Combining this, and long-standing housing concerns, the most vulnerable groups continue to face a myriad of protection concerns.  

With stretched funding and a growing population, thousands of families living in Juba need support. IsraAID’s integrated protection, sexual reproductive health, and soft WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) will target over 30% of the population living in Juba IDP camps 1 and 3. Through existing partnerships with like-minded organizations mandate, we are focusing on comprehensive humanitarian relief with a strong protection component that will tackle the root of relevant problems while enhancing community resilience as a whole. 

Affected by reduced income and often poor sanitation in over-crowded IDP camps, access to health and medical services is essential. In both Juba IDP 1 and 3, IsraAID directly oversees a number of health-related services, referring patients to community or humanitarian partners where necessary. Through our strong partnership with the government through the Ministry of Gender and Social Welfare and the Ministry of Health, we are able to provide capacity-building workshops and coordination for staff and departments at all levels. This is most visible through the Community Outreach Network composed of reproductive health officers, community case workers, community mobilizers, and community engagement facilitators that promote the empowerment of all community members. A Community Outreach Network reinforces protection monitoring, referral mechanisms, sexual reproductive health and hygiene, and awareness raising of local IDP population rights and needs.

Protection mainstreaming within IsraAID’s global and South Sudanese activities are essential for capacity building of communities and our staff. From safe water and nutrition to shelter and protection, the needs of IDPs are growing. The resources have dwindled, but lives should not. 

Over the last 10 years, IsraAID has been active in South Sudan providing urgent humanitarian support to survivors of gender-based violence through our educational and emotional support centers. These centers are critical, life-saving resources for women and girls, who have experienced displacement due to an ongoing military conflict in which rape is consistently used as a weapon of war. Immense instability is one factor that contributes to extremely high rates of gender-based violence—including rape, assault, forced marriage, and other forms of abuse—as the economy remains in shambles, reporting mechanisms are weak, educational resources are extremely limited, and cultural norms perpetuate these cyclical challenges.

According to United Nations actors, 65% of women and girls in South Sudan will be or are survivors of gender-based violence. COVID-19 has further exacerbated conditions on the ground: since the pandemic began, 1,500 South Sudanese teenage girls have been married or impregnated and there has been a 300% increase in cases of gender-based violence reported to IsraAID. Conflict in South Sudan has persisted since July 2013, when heavy fighting killed hundreds of civilians and displaced many more. Ongoing insecurity and lack of basic services continue to prevent millions from returning home: 1.6 million people are internally displaced and 2.2 million are refugees in the region. 80% of the population lives on less than $1 a day, and 8.3 million people in South Sudan are in need of humanitarian aid.

For the last decade, IsraAID has operated twelve women’s centers across the country, where we can provide some of the best trauma support methodologies, key educational resources, and innovative water management solutions developed in Israel. 

These spaces enable IsraAID to continue providing critical support including:

• Group sessions such as literacy classes, bedsheet crocheting, bead making, singing, dancing, and making handkerchiefs, to foster a sense of kinship and thus a support network among women
• Health education workshops to teach reproductive health and menstrual hygiene management
• Economic empowerment through financial literacy training and support to run small businesses
• 1:1 counselling for individuals to process their experiences and build self-esteem
• Emergency support, referrals to specialist services, and case management for those in need
• Training local leaders to support women and girls affected by gender-based violence

Our Women & Girl Friendly Spaces have helped thousands of gender-based violence (GBV) survivors with complex physical and emotional needs to process trauma, move toward recovery, and strengthen their resilience. We’ve referred hundreds to government services, medical care, and legal support, helping them overcome cultural stigmas and fear to do so. Our support is holistic and practical as well as emotion-centered; for example, our Livelihood programs tackle survivors’ financial dependence on spouses or relatives who abuse them.

Another major achievement has been fostering community-wide cultures of prevention. Attitudes don’t change overnight; this has been achieved through persistent, sustained endeavors for a decade. In 10 years, we’ve trained and mentored hundreds of Community Focal Points and helped them sustain Community Emergency Councils to deeply embed sustainable mechanisms for survivor support and reporting. Leaders include chiefs, religious leaders, elders, people with disabilities, and teachers; many are men. We’ve also discussed GBV with thousands of community members, including men and boys. As such, we’ve facilitated communal responsibility and empowered communities to implement, develop and own their own GBV prevention and response programs. Indeed, we are always keen to elevate local community-led organizations. We’ve supported 7 South Sudanese NGOs to access high-profile partnerships and funding opportunities, e.g. with UNICEF. We were also honored to be asked to co-chair the GBV Working Group in Juba, and to establish the Working Group in Maridi.