“NO PLACE TO HIDE”: THE CASE OF SEXUAL AND GENDER BASED

VIOLENCE IN SOUTH SUDAN

M. Mathai (UON)8th Annual Pan-African PCAF Psychotrauma Conference

Date 13-16 JulyVenue: CUEA NAIROBI

University of Nairobi ISO 9001:2008 1 Certified http://www.uonbi.ac.ke

Objective The objective of this

presentation is to highlight the problem of sexual violence in armed conflicts with a special focus on South Sudan and the cultural background on which it has evolved

We can’t stop talking! We must not forget!

Incomprehensio

nMonstro

us

Dissociation

Silence &

Reduced Accountability

"In all my life and experience of nearly 30 years in public service and in the UN and as a government minister, I have never seen what I have seen today,”1

Zainab Bangura the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict after visiting a U.N. camp in Bentiu in October 2014

IntroductionZainab Bangura has seen her share

of conflicts in Africa Sierra Leone, CAR, Liberia, Somalia, DRC ---

In all these civil conflicts atrocities perpetrated against women in South Sudan stand out.

Women attacked by rebel forces, government forces:

South Sudan is turning up to eclipse other conflict countries in terms of brutality and violent acts against women

Like in other parts of Africa- Ethnicity and age old conflicts have been manipulated serve political interests.

Rape, Penetration with

objects- Guns, Bullets etc

Gang-rape Abduction and sexual

slavery Forced abortion Mutilation Murder Burning

Background: Independence 9th July 2011

4th Anniversary of independence Thursday 9th July

?10,000 -50,000 killed 1.5 million internally displaced About 730,000 people have fled

to neighboring countries* - 90% of these are women and

children- fleeing the fighting and brutal human rights violations.

120,000 sheltered in UN compounds in land

United Nations estimates that the number of people in need for 2015 will include an anticipated 1.95 million internally displaced persons and a projected 293,000 refugees 2

Daily Nation 10th July 2015

Mid December 2013 Conflict breaks out between

government forces of President Salva Kiir and rebel group(s) led by the sacked Vice President Riek Machar

Conflict soon degenerated into an inter-ethnic armed conflict predominantly between the Dinka and the Nuer but characterized by fluid and dynamic alliances with different armed groups among the nearly 60 different ethnic groups

From political disputes to armed conflict

Heavy fighting with high civilian casualty

brutal violence against civilians and violations of international human rights and humanitarian law from all sides and now a looming famine.

The Massacre of Bentiu Attack on the Oil town of

Bentiu in April 2014 has been termed the "worst massacre" of the ongoing civil war 3.

Hundreds were massacred and left to lie in the open for days.

Radio to announcements calling out- which ethnic groups should be targeted

Calling out for the rape of women from these groups.

Bentiu like other towns has since changed hands several times and each time with new atrocities against civilians

No place to hide

In Bentiu, People had sought refuge in churches, mosques and hospitals but they were not spared4.

Even UN camps are not places of safety- April 20th 58 people were killed when a UN base in Bor was attacked3.

Protection of civilian populations women and children has been extremely limited

Violence Against Women and children

The impact on the women and children has been devastating:

“It’s unbelievable. It’s painful ... the harassments and sexual violence that take place at checkpoints, and when the women go out to get food and when they go out to get firewood. It’s really extremely distressing,” Bangura said, fighting back tears 1.

UN Mission In Sudan Report

Widespread sexual violation against women and girls (UNMIS 2014). A hospital in Juba reported that 74% of the survivors treated were

below 18years and even as young as 2 years Violations are ethnically based- Women are raped repeatedly, gang

raped as the towns change hands on the basis of ethnicity Atrocities are being committed by all the parties to the conflict (2015

UNMIS)

New reports (2015) from UNMIS cite the testimony of 115 victims and eyewitnesses from the Unity state counties - SPLA fighters have abducted and sexually abused and even burnt alive women and girls

“The scope and level of cruelty that has characterized the reports suggests a depth of antipathy that exceeds political differences.”5

No safe havens

Amnesty international in a report called Nowhere Safe: Civilians under Attack in South Sudan 6.

“We found consistently wherever we went – whether it was a conflict area where the government troops were in control or whether it was the armed opposition that were in control – civilians had been specifically targeted. And they had been killed. We found evidence of abductions, evidence of rape, including rape of women, who were pregnant, and young girls, ----"

--there are no safe havens, Kagari said, even in places typically considered sanctuaries (Michelle Kagari) 7.

Rebels reportedly used a church in the town of Malakal as a "rape camp" for months, despite the presence of UN peacekeepers nearby 8.

No place to run

When the attackers come- Women and children run but the are attacked while fleeing and they are attacked where they hide.

“the ones that were only raped are lucky because they survived. Many were raped and later killed, others were just killed.”9

Gendered experience in armed conflicts- Conflict Related Sexual Violence (CRSV)

War INJURES AND KILLS While more men are killed in war, women

often experience sexual violence Sexual Violence against women is

characterized by silence and shame, self and social stigma

Under reporting and neglect

CRSV in Sudan: An ongoing problem

Sexual violence and other forms of violence against women are not new to the current conflict in South Sudan- and have been reported in pre- independence conflicts.

The inter-factional fighting which ran parallel to the decades of war with Sudan was characterized by violence against women-

"Sexual violence featured heavily as a weapon of war, and people began to view women as legitimate targets. Women were seen as another battlefield to be conquered.“ 10

Low social status of women and Gender based violence

Women and girls become victims of sexual violence in armed conflicts because even in peace time they have low status, second class member of society with low resources and few rights even over their own bodies.

GBV in conflict does not just happen out of no-where the seeds from which it sprouts are already sown, nurtured and flourishing in the soil.

Sexual violence in conflict is a gross expression of what already exists

"Women have told me that this violence takes many forms and includes domestic violence and wife battery, abduction of women and children during cattle raids, rape and sexual assault, wife inheritance, forced and child marriages, and the practice of giving a girl child in compensation for a crime or a wrong committed by her family," (Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka, the executive director of U.N. Women. 2014) 11

‘Spoils of war’

Women are raped as part of destruction of the property of the enemy

Women are raped in order to unravel the fabric of the opponent’s society

Women are raped as punishment for ‘being’

Women are raped as a way to humiliate the men they are related to Women are raped by the men they are related to regain their feeling

of power after defeat/ humiliation The rape of women is about the exercise of power and control “Their bodies become a battleground over which opposing forces

struggle”

Disempowerment

The context in which SV in conflict occurs is broader than the conflict and precedes conflicts

IT IS: A social environment in which an overall

disempowerment and socio-economic and cultural marginalization of women in peace time exists

A Social environment in which all forms of Gender Based violence have been normalized

And normalization reaches far into post conflict period and even to the next generation

Health Impact on Girls and Women

Physical harm and injuries Infectious disease Environmental harm Mental health disorders- depression, Anxiety, PTSD, SUD Malnutrition Reproductive health Consequences- STIs, HIV, Risky

pregnancy, Unsafe abortions, infertility etc up to 80 per cent of displaced girls in Liberian conflict

estimated to have had an induced abortion by the age of 15

Social Impact

Abandonment and displacement

Bearing children of rape

Stigma Living in the streets Increased burden of

care

Summary

Disempowered Girls and Women in society who face increased gender based discriminations violence and inequality in peace times are at higher risk of victimization at the beginning of a conflict, during conflict and flight and re-victimization in the post conflict aftermath

“Sexual violence is the biggest fear for women in Central African Republic”. 06 Mar 2014 International Rescue Committee

Conclusion

Sexual violence in conflict situations can be predicted long before the conflict occurs

Measures can be taken to protect the women But long term prevention involves the dismantling of

social economic and cultural structures that reproduces and maintains the gender inequality

In Africa, this includes among others, doing away with some of our traditions- dear to many hearts- that symbolize male ownership of women’s bodies

No rape culture- just a culture that dis-empowers women

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