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STORY: SOUTH SUDAN / SEXUAL VIOLENCE SURVIVORS
TRT: 04:19
SOURCE: UNMISS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: NUER /ENGLISH /NATS
DATELINE: 23 APRIL 2020, LEER, SOUTH SUDAN
1. Med shot, Gender Officer from Hope Restoration speaking with survivor
2. Close up, survivor’s legs
3.Wide shot, survivor sniffing and crying
4. SOUNDBITE (Nuer) "Suzanne", Sexual Violence Survivor:
“They came at night and found us sleeping. They woke us up with rough kicks. They kicked me and beat me. One of them forcefully snatched me and took me away despite the pleading of my grandmother for him to stop. He even beat my grandmother. The people at home were wailing and screaming for him to bring me back. After he took me to the bush, he played on me [raped me] and let me go, and I went back home by myself. When I reached home some soldiers had come looking for me and him, but I was already taken away and he was gone. “
5. Close up, survivor’s legs and feet
6. SOUNDBITE (Nuer) "Suzanne", Sexual Violence Survivor:
“They took me to one of the hospitals, examined me and gave me some medicine because they feared that the person was sick.”
7. Close up, another survivor’s hands
8. SOUNDBITE (Nuer) "Elizabeth", Sexual Violence Survivor:
“For me, after the beating and the grabbing, I was ‘taken’ [raped] by three men. They kicked me on my chest with their boots and on my back as well. Because of this serious beating, my family used the traditional treatment to remove the contaminated blood because I was in pain. I got some relief.”
9. Various shot,UNIDOR Primary Health Unit
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Helen Merdado, UNIDOR Primary Health Unit:
“Most of them are developing stigma – [they] don’t want anybody to know that. Most of them who come to me, it is not easy. One of them, one day, told me, I will hang myself. I don’t want anybody to know. I had to keep quiet and deal with her until it was finished. Those are the cases mostly – it is not easy.”
11. Various shots, women walking
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Sara Gibson, Human Rights Officer, UNMISS:
In the longer term, obviously, building capacity of doctors, nurses takes some time, but what we would like to see is for the government to allocate more resources to this, and to see this, not as something that is primarily done by the international community, but to really take ownership of that as the duty bearer for the right to health.”
13. Various shots, sunset
Sexual violence survivors in South Sudan who have suffered physical and psychological harm are struggling to access health services because of a lack of medical facilities and specialist care while stigmatization is forcing victims to suffer in silence.
"Suzanne" was only 13 years old when she was raped. She weeps as she explains how a group of armed men burst into her home in South Sudan, beat her family, threatened to shoot them, and kidnapped her.
SOUNDBITE (Nuer) "Suzanne", Sexual Violence Survivor:
“They came at night and found us sleeping. They woke us up with rough kicks. They kicked me and beat me. One of them forcefully snatched me and took me away despite the pleading of my grandmother for him to stop. He even beat my grandmother. The people at home were wailing and screaming for him to bring me back. After he took me to the bush, he played on me [raped me] and let me go, and I went back home by myself. When I reached home some soldiers had come looking for me and him, but I was already taken away and he was gone. “
"Suzanne" is one of the thousands of women and girls who have endured sexual abuse during the South Sudan civil war and in its aftermath. She is one of the lucky few who have received some medical care from a non-governmental health center.
SOUNDBITE (Nuer) "Suzanne", Sexual Violence Survivor:
“They took me to one of the hospitals, examined me and gave me some medicine because they feared that the person was sick.”
In 2017, Elizabeth was attacked and raped while walking on a road two hours away from her home in Leer in the Unity region of South Sudan.
SOUNDBITE (Nuer) "Elizabeth", Sexual Violence Survivor:
“For me, after the beating and the grabbing, I was ‘taken’ [raped] by three men. They kicked me on my chest with their boots and on my back as well. Because of this serious beating, my family used the traditional treatment to remove the contaminated blood because I was in pain. I got some relief.”
A new report by the Human Rights Division of the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has documented a severe lack of health care for survivors of sexual violence. It found that the Government spent only 1.2 percent (USD 14 million) of its national budget last year on the public health system. In contrast, it spent USD 20 million on health care for members of its national legislature.
The underfunding has resulted in effectively outsourcing health care in the country to international donors, UN and non-governmental agencies. Despite the significant financial investment, health care remains weak.
The report identifies three major challenges. There is only one health facility per 10,000 people, compared to the WHO standard of two. About 72 percent of the population live more than five kilometers from a clinic. There aren’t enough skilled doctors, nurses and midwives and social barriers are forcing many to suffer in silence.
SOUNDBITE (English) Helen Merdado, UNIDOR Primary Health Unit:
“Most of them are developing stigma – [they] don’t want anybody to know that. Most of them who come to me, it is not easy. One of them, one day, told me, I will hang myself. I don’t want anybody to know. I had to keep quiet and deal with her until it was finished. Those are the cases mostly – it is not easy.”
A few organizations are providing trauma counselling in an environment which culturally shies away from speaking about rape. But human rights officers say it’s not enough. The government must step up.
SOUNDBITE (English) Sara Gibson, Human Rights Officer, UNMISS:
"In the longer term, obviously, building capacity of doctors, nurses takes some time, but what we would like to see is for the government to allocate more resources to this, and to see this, not as something that is primarily done by the international community, but to really take ownership of that as the duty bearer for the right to health.”
The report recommends increasing funding to 15 percent of the national budget, prosecuting more offenders, ensuring survivors have access to psychosocial support, targeting international investment to improving the capacity of the South Sudan health system and increasing efforts to overcome social barriers.
