'It May Approach as Quickly as a Bushfire': Gendered Violence and Insecurity in South Sudan

Abstract

This research report presents the findings of case study research in Eastern Equatoria State in South Sudan, carried out within the Power, Violence, Citizenship and Agency (PVCA) programme. The report describes forms of gendered violence at the local level in an insecure state. In post-civil war South Sudan, citizens experience a deep sense of insecurity due to actual incidents of violence in their home areas and to reports they hear about violent conflict elsewhere in the country. This sense of insecurity is exacerbated by the lack of protection from the state and the perceived injustice in the national political settlement. In response to this sense of insecurity, citizens develop protection strategies based on local institutions. These strategies are mainly developed by men. Though women are excluded from the institutions that govern security arrangements, they exercise subtle forms of agency to influence local institutions.