Giving guidelines on Sexual Offenses and Domestic Violence May Empower Women in South Sudan

By Daniel Machar Dhieu, Juba

March 12, 2015 –  First and foremost, I greet all women of South Sudan who are celebrating the International Women Day in present of crisis in the country. As you always read about it on a daily basis in shocking newspaper headlines, watch it on television, have a friend or family member that has experienced it or perhaps you have experienced it yourself Sexual and Gender Based Violence.

In context, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence mean any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.
Sexual and Gender-Based violence includes the word gender because most victims of interpersonal violence are women. Violence is directed against women because they are female and have little power in relationships with men and are considered as inferior to men in general. This lack of power and minority status makes women vulnerable to acts of violence.

Whether it is physical, sexual, emotional, or economical; it is a reality in South Sudan that the number of cases of sexual and gender based violence continue to increase.

What makes this situation even more outrageous is that the nation currently lacks crucial laws to protect women, children and men from perpetrators of sexual and gender based violence.

No charitable organization or individual can claim a monopoly to this milestone many have been part of this journey and laid the blocks building up to this moment. We continue to wait anxiously for the finalization of the process and enactment of the Legislation.

If the government adopted the eventual enactment of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Bill then it will be the best option toward creating a protective and safe environment for all South Sudanese people women.

It will mean acts of violence against women, children and men- will no longer be viewed as normal. It is the first step toward severe punishments for perpetrators of such violations.

We need to continue advocating for laws enactment and implementation, which will appropriately deal with perpetrators and send a very clear message to society that Sexual and Gender Based Violence will not be tolerated.

The Sexual Offences legislation will provides clear definitions for violations such as rape. Although rape cases are taken to court, the trauma and fear that affects a survivor’s ability to present evidence during court proceedings often leads to poor or no convictions.

The inability to clearly define and categorize the incident that occurred as rape often leads to a perpetrator being acquitted.

In the country’s existing outdated laws, rape is currently defined as the unlawful connection with a woman without her consent. This definition is dangerously limited and not only fails to encompass various forms of rape as sexual violence, but disregards violations against girls, boys, and men who may also be subjected to this form of violence.

As forms of Sexual and Gender Based Violence evolve, the country needs to update its laws to adequately cover the sexual offences that are occurring today. There is no way that laws dating back from tribal line cultured.

The Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence law defines rape as –“an unlawful sexual act. Sexual act is defined as; the insertion, even to the slightest degree, into the genital organ…anus or other orifice of another person. And these forms of violence already practiced in South Sudan especially Juba. For example in August 2014, I found man arrested in Hotel (Gumbo) after having sex with girl through anus other than using the main channel and claimed that he has paid 50 SSP for agreement.

This act may cause damage to other part of the body of a person or any object into the genital organs, anus, or other orifice of another person for purposes of sexual gratification of the person performing the insertion.

To put things into context, currently when a young boy is forced by woman to have intercourse her it is not considered to be rape because the current law only recognizes women as victims.

What I know so far, there has been a tendency to associate this violation to the South Sudanese practice of Tradition believe this should be a man’s proposal of love to a woman (courting), but some men feel that when a woman says no to a proposal that they must continue to persuade and follow her whether it makes the woman uncomfortable or not. If a woman says no and continues to be followed and harassed this is no longer a law and is defined as stalking according to the modern world.

Giving guideline on Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence may build hope in women and to  us as national activists, and it will actually diverted the negative though into positive though.   If we adopted the policy of respecting women as South Sudanese then women will soon be able to take legal action against perpetrators of stalking. Essentially the respect of women dignity on sexual violation will provides a framework for the respect of the basic human rights of women and children, who are often the most vulnerable members of our society.

This year the commemoration of the international women Day campaign could indeed be a special one as we have celebrated the opportunity to re-affirm our determination to advocating for its enactment into law.

My own theme as South Sudanese national activist this year 2015 is, “From peace in the home to peace in the nation: Let’s challenge militarism and end violence against women.” This national campaign began in some years in South Sudan. From peace in the home to peace is the nation proves to be a very significant theme for South Sudan. The ideas behind the national strategy are focused around families- the household, intimate partner communication, appropriate ways of communicating with children, community responsibilities and state obligations about Gender Based Violence.

If we advocate for safe, peaceful, and happy South Sudanese households it will have a ripple effect and translate to a safe and protective environment for all. We need to start a social movement for change and refuse to normalize violence against women and children.

This article will let you know the importance of women in our community as South Sudanese people. The issue of Sexual and Gender Based Violence is something to be addressed as a national priority. As such, appropriate resources and commitments should be directed toward effective prevention and response efforts at all levels by all sectors.

The writer is the Student at South Sudan Christian University for Science and Technology (SSCUST). Contact him on machardhieu@gmail.com and 0925228899