Radio Miraya
2816: Know Your Rights: Building Resilience for Survivor of Conflict Related Sexual Violence in South Sudan
A very good morning to you and welcome to Know Your Rights on Radio Miraya, a program that comes to you every Friday at this particular moment to talk about your rights in other people's rights of course and how to address them when you feel violated. Well today we're discussing about something really very important and that is looking at building resilience for survivors of conflict related sexual violence in South Sudan. What is that? And we get to find out shortly here because the enemies, women's protection advisory unit, the United Nations Population Fund and the International Trade Center secure funding for a collaboration project under the umbrella of the United Nations action network on conflict related sexual violence for the implementation of a project to support survivors of conflict related sexual violence in selected locations around the country. And I'm glad to tell you that we have guests here with us in the studio to help us understand what this project is all about to also have understand, make us understand who are survivors of conflict related sexual violence and how can this in the first place be prevented. But if so happened, what can be done to get help? Well, I'm glad to tell you that here with me in the studio we have Isilah Katharut who is a senior women's protection advisor working for the United Nations mission in South Sudan. Isilah is good to have you once again on No Your Rights Program. It's been a while, good morning. Good morning. Thank you for joining us. And also with us here in the studio we have Sara Masal. Sara Masal is a deeply representative United Nations Population Fund. Sara, good morning and welcome. Good to have you on No Your Rights Program. Thank you and good morning to you too. Yes, we also have Joanne Winnie Alpayo who is from the International Trade Centre, Joanne. Good morning and good to have you on No Your Rights. Good morning. It's my pleasure to be here. Yes, as we all know gender-based violence is a global issue and one of the most silent violations of human rights. Now in conflict situation, the risk of gender-based violence increased significantly. Now, in these instances, the possibility of conflict-related sexual violence occurring is even higher. Let's get to understand first what exactly do we mean when we talk or use the term conflict-related sexual violence? Let's begin with you, Isilah. Thank you. The Women's Protection Advisory Unit at Onmis leads on the work with regards to conflict-related sexual violence. Allow me briefly to explain, as you said, what is it that we mean when we are talking about conflict-related sexual violence? Well, CRSV, I'll be talking more about CRSV, which is, you know, the acronym for-- Collaborated. Yes, refers to acts of sexual violence with a direct or indirect link to a conflict. It is perpetrated against women, men, girls, and boys in the context of conflict, post-conflict situations, or other disturbances, including political strife. And I really stress down the fact that it is against women, girls, men, and boys, even though the impact is felt more by women and girls. Now just a few common examples of CRSV, these would include rape, gang rape, sexual slavery, abductions for sexual slavery, forced marriage, forced pregnancy, and any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity. That is, it's for, you know, those who are looking at the crime at this human rights violation to determine, and it is also frequently used as a tactic of war and terror by parties to a conflict and others who seek to profit from a breakdown of the rule of law and order. So this is it, the link to the conflict, and it applies to everyone. These are the two things I would want to stress on. Thank you. Thank you, Sheila, for that explanation. Now Sara, just briefly to put it into the context of these, how is the situation of this sexual, conflict related sexual violence in South Sudan? Now is it something that we can say is of good concern? Yeah, thank you very much. I think building on what Sheila has just said, and let me also just mention briefly that as UNFPA globally, one of the focus areas that we support countries around is to eliminate gender-based violence, including conflict related sexual violence, and also harmful practices like forced marriage. So this is where our entry point into this program comes in. So it is indeed a major, major concern for us as UNFPA. We are along with our partners working on provision of services for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. We are supporting one-stop centers, we are supporting women and girls-friendly spaces, which are critical to provision of comprehensive one-stop services. This could be legal services, this could be medical, this could be psychosocial care. This is provided at the centers. Also working to strengthen the response in terms of building systems, building capacities of health workers, of legal practitioners, so that they can provide whatever services this survivors might need. Empowerment of survivors themselves, very, very critical. We work a lot with our partners, sister agencies, and the mission to look at how we can help the survivors rebuild their lives. Again, the confidence, participate productively in the economy and so on. All right. We will be looking at more of those as we continue with the programs. Thank you so much, Asaba. Joanne, you like to add something briefly, please? Yes. Sure. Just, you know, to build on the livelihood support with the survivors, which already UNFIS has started on, ITC comes in to strengthen the possibilities for the production and supply of marketable products in South Sudan with the survivors. Okay. Yeah. All right. Thank you. All right. If you just join us, you're listening to know your rights. And, of course, we are discussing something that we've seen, something we've heard that might have happened to us or to someone closer to you. And yes, if you have any question later that you'd like to ask, please, I will open the lines and you can talk to our guests here or you can do is just call us on 0-9-29-68-6297 and you will be live this morning here on Know Your Rights program. Now, as you clearly have explained for us and we have understood what conflict related sexual violence is, we've seen what forms it takes. As you mentioned earlier, Sheila, let's look at what are the root causes of this conflict related sexual violence, especially here in South Sudan? I believe there is one thing which is very, very important. And to build on that, I would say that last year, we documented and verified 225 incidents of CRSV, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. And why is it? This is where the link comes in. Why is it that we are not able to get more reports and all? It links to the root causes and how women don't feel or rather those who suffer conflict related sexual violence don't come forwards to report. There is something which is very important. And that's what I call the continuum. If the society, women, there is inequality and there is patriarchy which doesn't allow women to develop into having the space where they can express themselves and there are other issues which come in the way people look at them at survivors when they happen to have been violated, their rights have been violated, then this continuum which is present within the society, one before conflict, etc, then carries on during a conflict situation and it continues to be perpetrated in this manner affecting everyone, in fact. Harmful practices to women also is part of the root causes and also the way that they are looked at and they get the stigma, ostracization, different things which happen to a survivor. It's not only survivors of conflict related sexual violence but different survivors because just talking about this issue and that links to again how the society works is taboo really. Yes and thus impunity, for example, in conflict situation contributes to actually one of the root causes of discontinuing. Absolutely right and that is shown really in the way things are done. I mean let's put it this way that indeed the state has the responsibility to address every single human rights violation including conflict related sexual violence, however the authorities may be either unwilling or unable to adequately respond to CRSB related crimes, both during and after situations of conflict and the role here of everyone including civil society and others is to remind the state that it has this responsibility but why fight against impunity? I would want to just address that a little bit. It promotes access to justice and provides remedies for survivors, victims as part of a rights-based approach which is very important and promoting justice is a critical condition for the enhancement of rule of law, re-establishing peace and security and the achievement of sustainable security and impunity is often the root cause and catalyst to conflict so it needs to be addressed. So that's why addressing impunity and ensuring accountability for CRSB crimes is an effective approach to deter future crimes from being committed by sending a strong message to perpetrators and community that CRSB will not be tolerated and also the most important element which will link us today for this project is that survivors are then able to get redress to have remedies. Great, now Sarah would you like to take briefly or add something to what Sheila just explained there? Yes, thank you very much, just to add that when we have situations of prolonged conflicts and insecurity we have to remember that these destroy the normal order. Families are disrupted, communities, leadership in communities, there's disruption there during conflicts so the very systems and structures that use to protect women to protect girls may be affected or disrupted by the conflict. So the vulnerability of women and girls in circumstances of conflict really, really goes up and we see this here in South Sudan but we see it also in other countries. And further to that, as Sheila has mentioned, the gender norms, the practices, the beliefs in societies, when we already have deep-rooted patriarchy, when it comes to conflicts and insecurities, these are also elevated because the environment already is saying to, you know, the perpetrators are products of these societies. So whatever it is that they've known to accept as the normal, now the context of insecurity just heightens that. And then lastly, very briefly, also the poverty, the deep-rooted poverty and economic vulnerability of our women and girls makes it even the vulnerability in heightened during conflicts and insecurity. All right, you're listening to Know Your Rights on Radio Miraya, a program that comes to you every Friday after the news at 9. Today, we're discussing about building resilience for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in South Sudan and I have my guests here with us in the studio to help us discuss that. Now, we need just, let's look briefly on how does this conflict-related sexual violence fit into the international trade center's portfolio? What is your office doing on this? Okay, ITC in this project comes in with the action to focus on socio-economic empowerment to the survivors because we believe you have to be economically empowered to also, you know, to be able to get through all the hardship you're going through, basically. Survivors have been through so much and when they're economically empowered, they basically have the powers to speak or to raise themselves to a certain level. So here are the actions that ITC takes to make sure that this is in place. So some of the actions we take is that we look at economic empowerment needs that the community and challenges that the community has. So we fill this out, we also tend to identify the pathways for the economic needs as informed by the market. So meaning we get to know what it is that the market wants so we can help the community towards that direction, the survivors towards that direction because when supposing we don't give them the right direction to the need of the market, then somehow we are not helping them because supposing if the market needs honey or shea butter and then the community wants to focus on bed sheet suing and then we support them on that then definitely we're not helping them. We have to make sure that we direct them towards that line what the market needs so we help them in that. We also tend to help them in build as a sustainable business, it's something that will grow even when the project comes to an end, they're able to proceed and stand on their own. We don't want them to start something that would collapse as soon as the project comes to an end. Right. Now let's continue and back to you Silla just briefly, we're talking about the survivors. What major needs have they been highlighted by survivors of conflict related sexual violence? Something that it so happened, what are some of their needs if you can make us understand a few? Yes and thank you for this very important question. We've worked with survivors of conflict related sexual violence for quite a while now in terms of different projects, basic needs, first and foremost, immediate support. You know when they've been through such difficult situations they need immediate support and what does that mean in practice, first and foremost, health issues. They've been in situations where they've had their at risk of first of all, you know, unwanted pregnancies, SDIs as well as the violence which may have caused damage to their own bodies and reproductive system. First and foremost, there's the medical aspect of things which is most important. Secondly, then the psychosocial aspect of their well-being and how to take them out of this very difficult experience and the psychosocial support unfortunately is not so organized, I would say not many have access, not many survivors of CRSV have access to the support which will take them through a course of action which allows them to look into what happened to them and understand that they are not to blame for it, that they are not the ones who are responsible for it so that they can move on and continue to have a life of, you know, I don't want to say as productive citizens but as valuable citizens in the society. So last point I really would like to say and this is important when we're talking about rights, justice, access to justice is also a very important point for survivors because you know, through access to justice then they can access remedies and reparations. Thank you. Thank you so much. And so just looking at of course what the UNFPA is doing, can you just briefly explain to us what is your office is doing to address or try to address this conflict sexual related violence in South Florida. Thank you very much and as mentioned by Sheila our first point of call is on the health and wellness of the survivor. So as UNFPA we work a lot with the Ministry of Health around capacities of health care providers to be able to provide the immediate medical attention. Some of the survivors have gone through rape so we build capacity on clinical management of rape, if there's a pregnancy, if there's physical injury and so on then the survivor can be attended to. But as we have already mentioned this survivors need, usually need a variety of services from legal to psychosocial, later on to economic empowerment. So one of the key things that we work on is UNFP is to make sure that there's a rallying point for all these multiple services because we don't want a survivor to turn up at the police station and then they have to again go across the city to go and get medical care and then walk across also to get this and that. So there has to be a coordination of the services, a constellation point and this is where our support to the one stop centers becomes very very critical because the survivor once they reach the one stop center, all the services that they need are available there or are brought there to them. And then the referral pathways as well, even somebody who calls a hotline or something to say that there is a case like this, then there's a system in place, a very clear system how they are going to be referred from one point of service to the other. These are some of the things that UNFP were working on. Yes, this is noise rights on Radio Miraya, a program that comes to you every Friday. Today, my guests in the studio, we have Silla Katharut, who is a senior women's protection advisor working for the United Nations mission in South Sudan. We have Sarah Marcel, a deputy representative United Nations population fund and we have Joanne Winnie from the International Trade Center. We are discussing and looking at building resilience for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in South Sudan. Now, if you have any question that you would like to ask, please don't hesitate, our lines will be open shortly, 0-9-9-6-8-6-2-9-7. Once again, 0-9-2-9-6-8-6-2-9-7 or you can call us on 0-9-1-2-0-6-2-9-5-0, 0-9-1-2-0-6-2-0-7-9. As some of the numbers you can call, so you can talk to our guests if you have any question that you would like to ask. Well, economic empowerment definitely plays a very vital role when it comes to empowering survivors and their dependents. Sheila, can you tell us more about what it means to empower survivors of complicated sexual violence? Thank you. And I think it's a very important part of all the discussion. We've talked about the different elements and which we need to make survivors valuable citizens to help them to reach again the status of valuable citizens in the country. So economic empowerment is a liberating aspect of the whole process, why it gives them the possibility of not only being able to care for themselves, their families, et cetera, but also to provide in certain circumstances employment to others once they have been able to get out of a situation where they were down in terms of their economic empowerment. And now they are able to have their own business, manage their own business, look at its sustainability and also look to the future and bring all that it brings to them. Some of the survivors we've talked to said it is such an important aspect. Not only it helps them to educate their children because it brings the funds in to do that, but they are looked upon in the highest team within their own societies again after going through a process where they can now provide employment to others and their role models. So economic empowerment at the basis of rising them from where they were after their experience to that level where their confidence, where their confidence not only in their own rights as individuals, but they become confident members who can change their own communities and societies because they have economic clouds now. So this is how we are looking at the economic empowerment. I'm sure you know others can talk about the nitty gritty of things, but this is how I view it. This holistic approach to make them feel empowered in all sense, including economically. Great. Sarah, you like to add on that. What do you think or what do you hope to combat this? Would this approach, what do you hope to combat like to remedy multiple challenges that are facing survivors like particularly stigma as well, and extra cessation and provide livelihood to these women? Yes, I think one of the things we also have to emphasize is the impact of particularly conflicts on communities on families. If communities families are struggling even economically and that is even made worse by conflicts, they tend to adopt various coping mechanisms, and one of these coping mechanisms that is of great consent to us in South Sudan is the issue of child marriage. So families are struggling economically, if they have girls, they may send them off to marriage because there is less one mouth to feed and so on and so forth. And this is a great violation of the rise of girls and young women. So this is something that concerns us quite a lot. We work, as I said earlier, we work with various stakeholders, including the traditional chiefs here in South Sudan, to try and break the stigma and the cloud, this cloud that hands around the survivors, as if they have done something wrong. It's also the work that we are doing in the communities on awareness, race, you know, promoting positive male behaviors made by masculinity is also intended to really deal with this addressed stigma, reduced stigma, eventually eliminated, so that these women and girls recognize that it's not because they were in the wrong place, at the wrong time as they are doing, but it's a violation too. They don't have to have been subjected to that. So with this work in the communities and work in particularly with the traditional leaderships because remember, they play a very big role in shaping norms and practices and communities so that they understand that women have to be protected, the rise of women have to be protected, the rise of women to speak up, to be recognized as members of society and not be, you know, relegated to that point where they can be sold around, shifted around because of economic hardship, all of this should be attended too. Yes, now Towini, what actions need to be taken for this actually to be achieved or for this to happen? Yeah, as I said earlier, you know, for this to happen, the actions that ITC will take is basically, as I said, to we get to know what are the economic challenges of the community. We get to identify the market for them, see what it is they want. And we also support the survivors through starting, you know, the challenges of starting up businesses, we try to connect them with potential buyers when the businesses are started, of course, connect them with potential buyers and give them the business guidance to get them through that. We also provide them the financial, appropriate financial products such as grants in loans, specifically connect them to the micro-finance institutions to make sure that they have the access to finance, which also helps a lot. Thank you. All right, now time for you to call us. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate our lines. Now we're opening them and you can ask any question to our guests, especially of course, concerning this conversation that we are having here in the studio. So yes, the number once again is 0 9 29 6 8 6 2 9 7, or you can call on 0 9 1 2 0 6 2 9 5 0 another line 0 9 1 2 0 6 2 0 7 9 and be live in the program. Let's take our first call in this particular segment. Good morning. Good morning. So this is a reverend Charles from your name once again, reverend Charles from Tumbra country reverend Charles is good to have you in the program reverend Charles, please go ahead your comment and our question. My question is a young man, which is a jobless nowadays. This is what related to the conflict regarding women, then what will do Priscilla is about. Yeah, this is my question. All right, you're saying joblessness is the one that is contributing for this kind of conflict. And then it caused it affects and particularly to you, Silla, how will you respond to reverend Charles? Reverend, good morning. I would like to say that this is one of the points which working with the survivors of conflict related sexual violence in another project. They have raised it to our attention. They brought it to our attention at two levels, first and foremost, those young men who do not have jobs and don't know how to take up other things and they get sucked into conflicts and groups who are involved in the conflicts. And secondly, we've also had those who were in fact themselves survivors, young men who have been survivors of conflict related sexual violence, because this is a taboo subject, as I mentioned, fewer young men would come up and discuss this with us. But just to say that this is a broader issue which needs to be looked at with other stakeholders and finding solutions as what could be the best remedy to bring jobs and to bring other things, other ways of earning a living and be occupied. Of course, you know, I am a great follower of one of the spiritual leaders of this world or he was also a very important person. If you know Mathmagandi as well as Luther King, Martin Luther King both said, one needs to see what we can do for ourselves also. What is it that we can do ourselves to start with? This project, as I said, is really for survivors, but the other problem which Reverend Charles brought is a bigger one which needs much more, very specific and broader interventions from many other stakeholders and a conversation which is worth having. All right, let's have another call. Good morning. Hello, my name is Mr. Jonathan. I am the Chief of the Humanities and Humanities. I am the Chief of the Humanities and Humanities, and I am the Chief of the Humanities and Humanities and Humanities and Humanities. I'm the Chief of the Humanities and Humanities and Humanities, and I am the Chief of the Human Well, James Beyer particularly is asking about, in most of these cases, people with disabilities are always left out when it comes to helping, and is asking the role of your organizations when it comes to helping people, of course with disabilities, also relating to conflict, conflict related sexual violence. Maybe I start. Yes, please, go ahead. It's a very important point, but it's good to note, to appreciate, I think, the efforts that are going on in this country to include people with disabilities. I have noticed myself in the last one and a half years that I've been here, that we actively, as the UN, involve representatives of communities with disabilities in the planning. If I could speak specifically for UNFP, when we do our planning, we have members from this community. Because again, you don't want to program and think for them, so I think this opportunity of them sitting with us when we do our plans, so that we can understand where their needs are, what their concerns are, and build those into the programs that we are supporting. This we have been doing. Is it enough, far from enough, we need to be doing more and more to really, really ensure that we mainstream those concerns and issues into our everyday activities? That is happening. We just need to do more. Thank you. Thank you. Now, we understand that our enemies, UNFPA and ITC, under the leadership of the Minister of Gender, Child and Social Welfare and the support of the United Nations Action Network on Conflict Related Sexual Violence have come together to facilitate the socio-economic empowerment of survivors. Sheila, can you please share some of the highlights on this particular, under this project? Yes. Thank you. Just to start by saying that this is a collaborative approach. We decided together with UNFPA and ITC and on this to implement this project. Maybe just one word about the UN Action Network on sexual violence in conflict. It is chaired by the Special Representative of the Secretary General on sexual violence in conflict and is supported by a Secretariat in our office and the Steering Committee is made up of 25 or around that members of the UN, including UNFPA and ITC. One of the streams of work is really that the network is protection and prevention of survivors and other risk groups. And what is the most important part is that in this particular project, we all came together under this umbrella to look at certain very specific areas. It's not a huge amount. We are looking at survivors of CRSP in Bantube or Yambio and Greater Juba. So that's where it is located. What we are looking at is, first of all, this multi-pronged approach, which Sarah mentioned, provide those who need it with medical support and from them build their capacity. In terms of accessing markets, see how to support them to access markets with a business that they want to take forward. And Winnie here from ITC has already mentioned how we want to go about doing that, working directly and supporting the survivors. All right. Thank you. Thank you, Silla. And with that, we have come to basically the end of this particular program. But before we close, let's start with you, Sarah. What is your message to survivors who are listening to us now or listening to this talk? So just in less than 30 seconds, please, because we're wrapping up. Thank you. My main message is there are services out there. Come forward and benefit from the services and rebuild and recover your lives. Thank you. Very strong message there. Thank you so much, Sarah. And yes, Winnie, what would be your message? Yeah. What I would just say is that there are possibilities for the situation where you have much better control on over yourself. So what you have to do is just take care of yourself and protect your family. And always, you have to have the powers to stand up and speak up for yourself. Thank you for that message. And Silla, your message, please. Thank you. The survivor-centered approach is at the heart of the current project that is making sure that they have their voice within it. But not only because of that, but because survivors have individual needs. We've talked about this briefly, and this is what we want to help them with. Thank you. Thank you so much, Silla. Thank you, Sarah. And thank you, Winnie, for coming to know your rights program on Radio Maria. Do I appreciate your time? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for having us. Thank you. And yes, with that, we come to the end of the know your rights program for this week. Thank you for being part of the show. Thank you for your company. Catch us next week. If you can, same time, same program, same registration. I've been with you, Severed William. And as I always say, let the weekend, not weekend you. Bye-bye for now, and have a lovely one.