South Sudan is one of the world’s toughest places to live,as anyone who visits the country will notice immediately. Some of the cruelestrealities of life there, however, are less visible to the foreign observer “and as such are rarely mentioned on the international scene. One of those isviolence against women.
Violence against women“ from rape and sexual assault todomestic abuse “ is pervasive in the world’s youngest country. Decades of warbetween Juba and Khartoum, and between the South’s various ethnic groups,continue to leave an imprint on women’s bodies. Women in South Sudan sufferdisproportionately from ongoing insecurity through abduction, forced marriage,and physical and sexual violence. Experts say that current and former membersof the Sudan People’s Liberation Army are key perpetrators of ongoing sexualviolence and exploitation, especially in connection with its forced disarmamentcampaign earlier this year.
Although these abuses clearly have been exacerbated by yearsof conflict, they are in fact based on long-standing patriarchal systems, whichmake it even harder to eliminate. This breed of patriarchy condones violenceand prevents South Sudanese women and girls from realising even their mostbasic human rights. Most forms of violence against women occur at the householdlevel, within the family unit. Dowry practices, for example, cause husbands toview their wives as purchased property, preventing women from leaving abusivemarriages. Currently, a small number ofUN agencies, international non-governmental organisations, and national groupsare trying to respond to violence against women, but resources are scarce andthe challenges are myriad.
In a country where the problem of violence against women isso immense and so deeply engrained, it is tragic that response mechanisms areso limited. The government of South Sudan has a responsibility to protect itsfemale citizens, and must do so by prioritizing interventions that protectwomen from abuse.
The women and girls of South Sudan suffered enormouslyduring their country’s long fight for independence, but their fight forsecurity in their own homes continues. Surely, they deserve to find peace atlast.
