There is No Justice in This Country: Experiences of Sexual Violence Survivors in South Sudan

Executive Summary

Across the world, women and girls1 who have survived sexual violence face significant challenges accessing justice and support. Whatever their individual situations might be, whether in conflict or peacetime, they often confront similar barriers:

• patriarchal attitudes, beliefs and behaviours;

• stigma and shame that prevent them from speaking about their experiences;

• the firm belief that if they report the crimes to the authorities they will not be believed;

• fear of reprisals or revenge; and

• a weak criminal justice system, in which perpetrators are not held to account.

This is the reality shared by thousands of women and girls in South Sudan, where sexual violence has become normalised, perpetrated in a climate of impunity.2 Breaking down these obstacles will require a dedicated commitment to ending the myths and stereotypes in which they are grounded, and action informed by the voices and experiences of survivors.

With this in mind, between September 2023 and March 2024, STEWARDWOMEN joined Synergy for Justice to assess survivors’ experiences of accessing both the formal and customary court systems in South Sudan.3 The work centred on workshops with women survivors, listening to and sharing their experiences and listening to others, and on advocacy workshops to empower survivor networks to amplify survivor voices to ensure decision-makers, policy-makers and justice actors consider their experiences and their recommendations for change and improvement of access to justice for sexual and gender-based crimes. This report is the product of that work and includes, firstly, the experiences of accessing justice in the survivors’ own words, and secondly, their recommendations for change.

The voices and perspectives of 45 women survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) from Juba, Bor and Bentiu in South Sudan are highlighted in this report. These voices are clear and unequivocal. Their needs and rights are not being fulfilled. For all actors within the justice systems and those in the legislature and government ministries which support investigation, prosecution, adjudication and the prison service, their voices are a powerful call to action to correct the course and experience of justice for survivors in South Sudan.

Sexual violence, including rape, is a constant risk for women and girls throughout their lives in South Sudan. Girls as young as one year old have been raped. Women face repeated instances of sexual violence from different men in their lives, including relatives, neighbours, bosses, and men in uniforms with guns. Rampant impunity further encourages sexual violence. There is no deterrence. Overall, while almost all of the survivors had reported at least their first instance of sexual violence to the police, very few ever got to court or had their perpetrator convicted for the crime. Those convicted received low sentences, which most did not actually serve. Any awards of compensation were never paid.

Survivors spoke of the lack of resources and capacity for police investigations. Most cases ended with a statement and referral to the hospital. All survivors were asked to pay for investigations, for water, food, and transport for the police and others involved. Most were too poor to do so. While survivors borrowed money to cover these payments, they themselves were often not even given a chair to sit on in the police station. One survivor was even asked to bring the accused to court. Accused perpetrators were often released through payment of bribes or because of government contacts.

Survivors faced terrible stigma within their communities, threats and reprisals from perpetrators and their families and felt deeply unsafe throughout the justice process after they had reported the crime to the police. Discriminatory attitudes towards women pervade the police forces, impacting their attitudes, and are also present in the customary court process. Most of the women said that unless they had a male supporter or a victim advocate, the police would not take them seriously. All survivors spoke of a lack of basic services, no psychological or trauma support, and lack of access to legal representation or victims’ advocate. Survivors of rape with children born as a result face even greater challenges, with nowhere to turn for help.

Most of the participating survivors state that they will not report to the police again after their experiences of the justice system. Three positive initiatives and sources of support were identified: 1) survivor networks and women in their communities (mothers, neighbours, women activists, women leaders), 2) one-stop shops such as the ones in Bor Hospital and at the GBV Centre in Juba, where information, services and legal advice were all available, and 3) the importance of Victim Advocates who are often the difference between a fair chance at justice or the disappointment and re-victimisation that await women survivors unaccompanied at police stations.