SOUTH SUDAN / ENDING SEXUAL GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE WORKSHOP

STORY: SOUTH SUDAN / ENDING SEXUAL GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE WORKSHOP
TRT: 2:56
SOURCE: UNMISS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH/NATS

DATELINE: 23 AUGUST 2023, JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN

SHOTLIST:

1. Various Shots, workshop
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Tigist Melka, Gender Affairs Officer, UNMISS:
“It is very crucial for the mission and also for national stakeholders to understand the landscape of SGBV so that we can identify entry points and areas of cooperation and how we can provide support.”
3. Various shots, workshop
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Lopai Emmanuel, Gender & Development Studies Student:
“Cultural norms have contributed to gender- based violence in South Sudan so profoundly, because in the context of South Sudan, we believe too much in our cultures. We believe that, in some communities in South Sudan, we believe that it is the right of the parents to choose for the girl a man to marry, depriving the girl's choice to choose the husband of her will.”
5. Various shots, workshop
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Elizabeth Henry Angok, Chairperson, South Sudan Women in Local Government Association:
“They have the hospital, they have counseling, with support [from] our international organizations, like those of UNMISS, they make the capacity building and then some organizations contribute dignity kids and some who are supporting for access, rule of law and justice.”
7. Various shots, workshop
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Elizabeth Henry Angok, Chairperson, South Sudan Women in Local Government Association:
“They have the hospital, they have counseling, with support [from] our international organizations, like those of UNMISS, they make the capacity building and then some organizations contribute dignity kids and some who are supporting for access, rule of law and justice.”
9. Various shots, workshop
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Lieutenant Harriet Fouzia Jinaba, SSPDF/HIV Counsellor, Juba Military Hospital:
“The knowledge we got from here, we are not going to keep it here and we are going to back to implement. We are going to start from our families; from our families then to our offices and to neighbors and to everybody in South Sudan.”
11. Various shots, workshop

STORYLINE:

A conference on protection of women was held in Juba, the capital city of South Sudan, aiming to set a nationally led task force on ending sexual and gender-based violence.

Protection of women is a priority for the UN Peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), as it is for all stakeholders working to promote the role and rights of women.

SOUNDBITE (English) Tigist Melka, Gender Affairs Officer, UNMISS:
“It is very crucial for the mission and also for national stakeholders to understand the landscape of SGBV so that we can identify entry points and areas of cooperation and how we can provide support.”

Participants spoke frankly about cultural stereotypes that have contributed to perpetuating cycles of violence against women and girls in this young nation.

SOUNDBITE (English) Lopai Emmanuel, Gender & Development Studies Student:
“Cultural norms have contributed to gender- based violence in South Sudan so profoundly, because in the context of South Sudan, we believe too much in our cultures. We believe that, in some communities in South Sudan, we believe that it is the right of the parents to choose for the girl a man to marry, depriving the girl's choice to choose the husband of her will.”

Lopai, who is visually impaired, also made a strong case for laws to include women living with disabilities who are often at greater risk of abuse and violence.

SOUNDBITE (English) Lopai Emmanuel, Gender & Development Studies Student:
“When we look at the two sections of the community—women and girls and women and girls with disabilities—we find that women and the girls with disabilities are suffering from different intersectionalities that have made them more vulnerable to violence, putting them in a very precarious situation where they are unable to help themselves.”

For her part, Elizabeth Henry Angok, believes in the survivor-centered approach to help women overcome the trauma of sexual violence and is thankful to the international community.

SOUNDBITE (English) Elizabeth Henry Angok, Chairperson, South Sudan Women in Local Government Association:
“They have the hospital, they have counseling, with support [from] our international organizations, like those of UNMISS, they make the capacity building and then some organizations contribute dignity kids and some who are supporting for access, rule of law and justice.”

All participants attending this three-day event agreed that such dialogues are vital for South Sudan to, once and for all, end violence against women.
SOUNDBITE (English) Lieutenant Harriet Fouzia Jinaba, SSPDF/HIV Counsellor, Juba Military Hospital:
“The knowledge we got from here, we are not going to keep it here and we are going to back to implement. We are going to start from our families; from our families then to our offices and to neighbors and to everybody in South Sudan.”