Gender

South Sudan is a country with already pre-existing inequalities, gender norms and perceptions of who a man and woman is. The experiences of women and girls in South Sudan are starkly different to that of men and boys and the civil war, poverty and societal norms in the country has put women and girls at a disadvantage to seek out a livelihood, good healthcare, education etc. than their male counterparts.
The COVID-19 outbreak in South Sudan has struck an already vulnerable country with pre-existing differences and has further exacerbated these differences between women, men, girls and boys. For example, women and girls who make up the majority of frontline health workers, carers at home, community volunteers and mobilisers stand to be overwhelmed with more health and domestic responsibilities with the advent of COVID-19.
The restrictions on movement places a higher risk on women to experience Gender Based Violence, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, because women are confined in their homes or camps with abusers. Therefore it is
imperative that the national response plan on COVID-19 is grounded in a strong knowledge of gender dynamics, gender relations, sex and age disaggregated data that takes into account the differing experiences of all vulnerable groups (IDP’s women and children, disabled women, women and children in refugee camps), the gendered roles, needs, responsibilities and dynamics.
Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, Ministry of Gender, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Community Empowerment for Progress (CEPO) and Rural Women for Development South Sudan (RWDSS) conducted a rapid gender analysis to find out how COVID-19 affects Women, Men, Girls and Boys and to identify their different needs which seek out a more informed gender response.
The rapid gender analysis found out that there were challenges based on gender differences in how W, M, G and B’s experienced the restrictions imposed by the Government of South Sudan to prevent the spread of COVID-19, in how they accessed information, in how labor was divided in households, in how they received support to address GBV, in how they accessed an already strained healthcare system, in how they accessed WASH facilities and in how they were affected by a decrease in livelihood activities etc. The rapid gender analysis has also incorporated pre-existing data from secondary sources to inform the change that COVID-19 has brought onto communities in South Sudan.

Climate change poses global risks. These risks adversely affect women in developing countries because of their little capacity to adapt. Previous studies show that women are more vulnerable to climate change than men for a variety of reasons, including illiteracy, low socioeconomic skills, inadequate access to assets, and social isolation, among others. Thus, if empowered, women can contribute significantly to climate change adaptation and mitigation. Limited understanding exists on climate change gender impact disparity in South Sudan. Using literature and empirical data, we find that in South Sudan: Women are at the lower rung of social hierarchy, which produces imbalances that highly expose them to climate change disasters; Women have less resilience assets, rely more on natural resources, have high rate of illiteracy, low skills and low access to professional employment, which make them more vulnerable to climate change calamities than men, and Households headed by females are more vulnerable to disasters such as famine.

This report examines child and forced marriage in South Sudan. The report suggests that child marriage has a significant negative impact on women and girl’s realization of key human rights, including their rights to health and education, physical integrity and the right to marry only when they are able and willing to give their free consent.

This brief provides a context update about the current situation in Northern Bahr el Ghazal –a county in northern South Sudan.

The authors present safety and security challenges identified by communities, authorities and civil society such as food insecurity, gender-based violence, land and border disputes, weak justice systems and a lack of security services to turn to.

They also provide recommendations for how best to address these challenges for all levels of government and communities to consider.

The paper examined the essence of women in Mainstreaming Peace and Security in South Sudan by exploring lessons Learned and Way forward. The study has assessed some instruments used in support of UN Resolution 1325 to empower women in promoting peace and security within the country. The paper has examined UNSCR 1325 by understanding the essence of women participation, the execution of the resolution by developing the policy framework, and understanding the avenues applied by women to participate in peace and security in South Sudan. The paper has found out that, R–ARCSS is a great opportunity South Sudan’s gender mainstreaming by complying with UN resolution 1325. The purpose of this study was to articulate the desired end state of Women in Mainstreaming Peace and Security in South Sudan: Lessons Learnt and way forward to serve as a platform for discussions at the highest level of decision–making and to provide a guide for further detailed planning in achieving gender mainstreaming within South Sudan.

This study seeks to examine how structural factors, customary laws and traditional practices, and
economic hardships shape women’s status and hinder their effective participation in leadership
positions in South Sudan. By doing so, the study identifies some of the socio-cultural, economic,
legal, educational and political conditions, which lead to gender inequality in South Sudan. It
proposes strategies for addressing gender disparities in many aspects of South Sudanese society
for the betterment of women’s condition, and achievement of gender equality in South Sudan.
During the course of this study various research approaches were utilized for data collection.
These include the review of relevant existing literature, government documents and policy
frameworks to identify gaps and areas of concerns. One-on-one interviews were conducted with
selected government officials, policy makers and ordinary South Sudanese females and males to
understand their experiences and perspectives on issues related to women and gender in South
Sudan. In addition to interviews, observation and participant observation methods were used
during my visits to public schools, Juba Teaching hospital, the University of Juba, market places,
and social gatherings.