Combating gender-based violence and creating safe spaces for women, children, and their communities
Lucy Osuo and James Okot-Ochaya share inspiring stories of women that demonstrate the impact of World Vision South Sudan's USAID-funded humanitarian recovery and resilience project on the reduction of gender-based violence and protection of women and children from all forms of abuse and exploitation.
In South Sudan’s northeast lies Upper Nile, a state that has continued to bear the brunt of the protracted years of conflict and broken-down social fabric. In Upper Nile, violence has persisted since the pre-colonial years of liberation, due to civil war, and after the 2013 political fallout. The years of conflict and societal breakdown have precipitated food insecurity, human rights violations, and gender-based violence with the latter becoming a very complex social and public health concern. These are some of the negative practices that the multiyear USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance-funded Accelerating Recovery and Resilience in South Sudan (ACCESS) that commenced in late 2020, seeks to address under its goal and purposes.
Over the years, it was common for most men to perceive practices such as spouse battering as normal and culturally acceptable as many had witnessed as children. In Melut Payam, Nyabila Ajang, a 37-year-old mother of five children, was raised and eventually married. Nyabila remembers some of her experiences of gender-based violence as a young girl. “As a child, I often saw my father beating my mother even over issues I considered as not that serious,” says Nyabila. “I have grown up, gotten married, and faced similar occurrences as my mother. It’s a very sad experience for many women and many cases were not addressed.”
Nyabila joined the Melut Payam women’s group, which was formed by World Vision under the ACCESS project to empower women as agents of change and assist in addressing unmerited practices such as gender-based violence and human rights abuses. The women’s group was not welcomed by some men in the community as they saw it as an interference of their position of power. However, local leadership supported the group and stressed the urgent need and importance to address the high cases of gender-based violence and other related issues in the community at that time.
After seven months, Nyabila’s group conducted several gender-based violence awareness campaigns and performed plays that caused changes in the attitudes and behaviors of men, including not participating in some negative cultural practices. Nyabila has been a very passionate group member who has not only shared messages at public forums, but also practices the same messages in her own household—specifically sharing household chores between her and her husband. “At the start it was not easy, my husband and some of his friends and relatives saw my campaigns efforts as meant to demean men,” says Nyabila. “I persevered and kept on. I am delighted to see that my husband has changed and now supports me in many activities, which was not the case when we just got married.” Other group members similarly reported changes in their marriages. They now experience more affection, and partner violence has greatly subsided.
The changes in attitude have been further attributed to trainings and numerous awareness campaigns. “In some homes, even men are now preparing food for their children and taking better care of their children especially at instances where the wife has just delivered,” says Nyabila. Her zeal and proactiveness have been further assisted by her faith. She serves as a leader in the local Roman Catholic church. Her group has composed songs and shared messages on gender-based violence prevention and benefits of peaceful families during church services. Now in Melut Payam, violence against women has reduced and most women are living peacefully with their spouses.
Nyabila’s group also has been strong advocates against gender-based violence and has been helping identify gender-based violence cases. Over the past six months, the group has identified 11 cases, provided counseling, and referred complex cases to local authorities and other service providers for better management. The group’s efforts have enabled many individuals, who previously experienced gender-based violence but never reported it, to come forward and be assisted by the project through receipt of survivor kits. The group conducts door-to-door awareness raising on gender-based violence, sharing referral information with community members, and providing information on how to obtain assistance. Slowly, but surely, the community’s perspective on gender-based violence has started to change.
One of the many young women who found refuge in Nyabila’s group is a 20-year-old named Rebecca (changed to protect identity), who had married a man not approved by her parents. As a result, Rebecca’s parents disowned her since they felt she had disrespected them. After three years of being married, her previously calm and respectful husband turned violent, and started to severely physically abuse and assault her. Their marriage had irretrievably been damaged and broke up. Her husband abandoned her and their child. She was, at that time, seven months pregnant with their second child.
Despite all the difficulty Rebecca experienced, she could not return to her parents’ house. She lived in the internally displaced persons camp with her aunt who also could barely support herself. Rebecca found strength in Nyabila’s group, which assisted her through counseling. The group also mediated a reunion with her family. Rebecca was referred to World Vision’s ACCESS Project where she received survivor assistance and joined a village savings and loans association group. Now, Rebecca is living happily and safely after the birth of her second child. She also has taken an active role in the women’s group to raise awareness on gender-based violence and family strengthening within her community.
Learn more about World Vision's work in South Sudan here.
Lucy Osuo and James Okot-Ochaya are World Vision South Sudan’s Gender-based Violence Specialist and ACCESS Project Monitoring and Evaluation Manager, respectively.