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South Sudan continues to face recurring violent conflict, food insecurity, corruption, and poverty. Despite positive shifts within national legislation on gender equality, political, social, and economic power in South Sudanese society continues to reflect the deep patriarchy within society. The role of women and men, reflecting the gender norms of their respective cultural milieus, in both resolving and driving conflict is often not well understood by aid actors. Patterns of marginalisation, affecting both women and…

Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) is endemic in South Sudan. Approaches to end VAWG are barely making a dent in prevalence figures. Global evidence tells us that ending VAWG in conflict-ridden contexts is challenging on many levels. Our research points to the need for social and gender norm change approaches to be better contextualised within the political economy and through applying a nuanced critique of the role of culture in normalising many forms of…

This briefing paper examines the experiences of life after marriage for female youth who married under the age of 18 in South Sudan and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). This paper outlines the wide range of personal experiences following early marriage. It also describes the intersection between education and early marriage; mental health and early marriage; protection issues in marriage; and family dynamics following marriage. The paper also provides a spotlight on a sub-sample…

The United Nations Security Council must renew its arms embargo on the territory of South Sudan amid the state’s failure to ensure accountability for conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) and to protect survivors, witnesses and judicial actors, Amnesty International said today in a new report. The report,“If you don’t cooperate, I’ll gun you down”: conflict-related sexual violence and impunity in South Sudan, reveals how CRSV is ongoing in the country, and how guns can be used…

This report examines how missions are implementing their mandates to protect civilians from SGBV, including CRSV, and assesses good practices, gaps, and opportunities for improvement. The report draws on lessons learned from the UN missions in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the DRC (MONUSCO). It considers how the complexities of preventing and responding to SGBV necessitate a whole-of-mission approach to the protection of civilians (POC) that encompasses not only physical protection from violence but also activities…

This briefing presents research undertaken in the midst of a critical food insecurity crisis in Pibor and Akobo counties in order to understand its impact on the lives of women and girls. The research found that women and girls’ household chores, their livelihood opportunities and their access to education have all been impacted. It also found serious risks to their safety and health, and that they have limited coping mechanisms to deal with the crisis….

Following its independence in 2011 from Sudan, the 2013–2018 civil war in South Sudan devastated much of the country. The conflict was also characterised by both widespread targeting of civilians and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). A peace agreement signed in 2018 has largely held, although much of the country is still embroiled in armed conflict and communal violence. The 2018 agreement establishes a framework for the development of a Permanent Constitution to replace the…

Until the latter part of the twentieth century, South Sudanese boys and girls grew food on household farms for their families to eat. Under this system, children’s work and education were hard to distinguish. Today, however, many boys and girls work for money outside of their household farm and use the money to support their education in schools. Child Labour, Education and Commodification in South Sudan examines why this change took place and the effect…

Against a backdrop of protracted conflict and civil war, South Sudan has experienced a series of stop-start peace processes. Innovative approaches are now needed at national and local level to address the root causes of violence. This report synthesises the findings of the Network for Innovative Resilience-Building in South Sudan. It shows the importance of understanding conflict drivers and focusing on longer-term peace outcomes. Gaps in knowledge, evidence and learning are also identified. Download

Resilience has been a commonly used concept among development, humanitarian, and peacebuilding actors in South Sudan for some years and putting it into practice has become increasingly relevant in the current context. There are a variety of ways in which resilience is interpreted and practiced in South Sudan. This can impact on coordination and learning efforts among donors and aid agencies, as well as dynamics within coordination fora, and conflict dynamics among South Sudanese communities….

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