“Women are in fear day and night”: Untold numbers suffer conflict-related sexual violence as crisis grips South Sudan

TIERGOL, Ethiopia - Nyajok*, a single mother of three young children, is from Akobo County in South Sudan's Jonglei State. She fled the outbreak of violence in March and arrived across the border in Ethiopia, frightened and struggling to access any services.

"I ran for my life without carrying anything with me, only my children," she told UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, which is the UN's sexual and reproductive health agency.

"The journey was difficult - women and girls were being sexually abused and raped. There was no food, shelter, safe drinking water or health services."

Thousands of people were forced from their homes, with women and girls facing severe risks of sexual violence amid family separation, displacement and barely any essential health and protection services. Families narrowly survived bullets and shelling before crossing the river to reach the village of Tiergol in Ethiopia.

"I'm afraid that no one will survive in these circumstances" - Nyajok*

Nyawal* lost her mother, son and brother-in-law in the fighting. "I don't even know where some of my children are now," she told UNFPA. "We experienced horrific violence. Elderly people were killed, and children were slaughtered in front of our eyes. There was heavy gunfire, and houses were burned to ashes."

On top of the conflict, climate crises like floods and droughts also heighten risks of sexual violence, as women and girls must often venture on foot for hours, unaccompanied, in search of food and water. "The rains are coming but there is no shelter, medical services, protection or food," said Nyajok. "I'm afraid that no one will survive in these circumstances."

Women and girls at the heart of the crisis

Although humanitarian operations have gradually resumed and basic services are being restored, without sustained international solidarity and local action, the risk of further conflict-related sexual violence remains high.

An estimated 2.5 million women and girls in South Sudan need gender-based violence response and protection services, with two thirds of women and girls reporting abuse even before the latest escalation. Yet deep-rooted social stigma and the fear of reprisals mean that even these stark figures are likely an underestimate.

Nyaluot* is a frontline health worker at a UNFPA-run facility in Delule, South Sudan, who also escaped to Ethiopia. "There's no privacy for women and girls in the collective areas here, and they are not safe when they have to go out to gather firewood or go to the bathroom," she said. "They get raped or sexually assaulted."

Conflict-related sexual violence is a grave violation of international law and human rights, yet globally, survivor-centred support systems and prosecutions of perpetrators remain for the most part inadequate.

With the support from the Republic of Korea's International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), UNFPA was previously running a safe space and a health facility in the Delule sub-county of Akobo that provided maternal, sexual and reproductive health services for women and girls. But insecurity, looting and violence led to a dangerous disruption of humanitarian assistance.

"Women and girls are not safe when they have to go out to gather firewood or go to the bathroom. They get raped or sexually assaulted" - Nyaluot*

A survivor of gender-based violence, Nyajok had been accessing assistance at a women's and girls' safe space. She had received a dignity kit containing essential hygiene supplies, for example, and was also accessing psychosocial support. "But since I have been displaced I'm no longer receiving these services," she told UNFPA.

Escalating health risks

For pregnant women and girls, the consequences of the crisis ripple outwards. "There is no antenatal care, no delivery rooms and I fear that I will give birth under the trees like other women," said Nyawal, who was four months pregnant at the time.

Health worker Nyabiel* explained, "There is no safe place where health workers can provide medical services in the area. There are no supplies to treat sick women and girls. Women are delivering with unskilled health workers or traditional birth attendants, where complications can lead to the death of those women."

"Women are in fear for their safety day and night," she said.

Dr. Gony Diet works at a UNFPA-supported clinic in Tiergol, in Ethiopia. "Many pregnant women experience bleeding or go into labour on the roadside, including miscarriages, because they don't know where to go or where the health services are," he said.

And staffing constraints due to limited funds have prevented health workers from reaching communities to inform them about available services. "Even though support is limited and cannot cover all communities, at least those with urgent needs should be able to access the hospital."

Continuous funding for local actors on the ground and coordination between international organizations helps reduce gender-based violence and maternal and newborn death rates, even in the absence of a functioning health system.

"I fear that I will give birth under the trees like other women" - Nyawal*

Since the situation has calmed, UNFPA has airlifted 1.2 tonnes of medical supplies to Akobo to support resumed humanitarian operations and the gradual return of civilians from Ethiopia. However, as there are growing numbers in need of assistance, these supplies will urgently need to be restocked to ensure life-saving services can continue.

"My hope is to provide health and safe life despite the challenges in my area," said Nyaluot. "I hope through this kind of support, healthcare workers will improve their capacity, gender-based violence cases will be greatly reduced, and women and girls can safely and easily access sexual and reproductive health services."

*Names changed for privacy and protection