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Direct Link to Full 25-Page Study
Report:
GENDER-BASED
VIOLENCE IN SOUTHERN SUDAN: JUSTICE FOR WOMEN LONG OVERDUE
A Study for the Enough Project by the Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic at Yale Law School1
INTRODUCTION
Southern Sudan has a
history of gender-based violence (GBV) during times of conflict and
instability. GBV is any act of violence against women that results in, or is
likely to result in, physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to
women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of
liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.2
Five years after the
official end of the civil war, GBV remains prevalent in Southern Sudan. Women
and children are raped and abducted, with sex workers and women of foreign
origin particularly vulnerable. With insecurity increasing in many regions of
Sudan, GBV has become more frequent, and women are now specifically targeted
during violent inter-ethnic conflict. Sudan’s security and armed forces are
responsible for much of this violence. However, Sudanese authorities and the
international community have failed to protect women from GBV or to hold
perpetrators responsible. The number of GBV incidents will likely increase as
tensions rise in the aftermath of the 2011 referendum on whether Southern Sudan
should become independent. International actors concerned about Sudan’s future,
including the United This study examines the extent and the sources of
gender-based violence in Southern Sudan and analyzes the ability of GBV
survivors to secure justice. During Sudan’s second civil war, which ended in 2005,
many women experienced rape, forced marriage, and abduction.
The effects of Sudan’s
civil wars linger in Sudan and may contribute to instability in the period
surrounding Southern Sudan’s 2011 referendum.......