HIGHLIGHTS
Aid workers have deployed in Leer County to re-establish humanitarian operations.
New fighting in parts of Western Equatoria has triggered a fresh wave of displacement and the relocation of aid workers.
Over 12,000 children have been vaccinated in Juba in response to a new measles outbreak.
Aid organizations are improving the living conditions in the Malakal PoC site.
The conflict in South Sudan has generated additional risks of sexual and gender-based violence.
16 Days of Activism provides call to action to address gender-based violence
On 25 November, South Sudan joined countries around the world in marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, as it kicked-off a series of events to commemorate the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.
Gender-based violence was widespread in South Sudan before the start of the conflict in December 2013. The conflict has generated additional risks of sexual and gender-based violence. The number of reported cases of gender-based violence has increased five-fold in the last two years, with 97 per cent of the reported cases involving gender-based violence against females and 3 per cent against males. In Leer, Mayendit and Koch counties of Unity alone, an estimated 1,300 women and girls were raped and 1,600 women and children abducted from April to September 2015.
Women have been raped or attacked when collecting firewood or vegetables to sustain their families’ livelihoods. Child marriage, which was already prevalent in South Sudan prior to the conflict, has been exacerbated as families facing economic stress have turned to it as a negative coping mechanism. In 2010, about 40 per cent of girls were married before the age of 18. Child marriage contributes to high rates of adolescent pregnancy, high fertility rates and exclusion from education, while girls who become pregnant while physically immature are more likely to develop obstetric fistula.
UNFPA Representative in South Sudan, Barnabas Yisa, spoke on Radio Miraya about the importance of combating gender-based violence. “Wife beating does not give you love, the culture of beating is not a culture of the 21st century,” he said.
Thirty partners are working across South Sudan to prevent gender-based violence and support survivors, including through provision of safe spaces, Clinical Management of Rape and psychosocial assistance. Specialised teams are working with communities and religious leaders to advocate for peace and promote the right of all women and girls to live free of violence and abuse, with 950,000 people reached with information on GBV prevention and response in 2015.