The current approaches to releasing women and girls who have been forced into armed groups are far from adequate.
In a significant development earlier this month, South Sudan’s rebel movement released 78 women and 50 children who’d been held captive for months.
Those freed were among the thousands of people who have been abducted over the years by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement Army in Opposition (SPLM-IO). In a five-month period of 2018 alone, the armed group reportedly kidnapped over 887 civilians in a series of attacks. Many abductees, including boys under 15, are forced to be fighters. Women and girls are raped and abused.
On a recent research trip to South Sudan, Catherine* told me how rebel soldiers had ambushed and abducted her in May 2018. They took her to their base in the bush and forced her to be the “wife” of a soldier. He raped for three weeks before a senior commander made her his bodyguard and secretary instead. After eight months, Catherine was given permission to leave the base to get medical care on the promise that she would return. She didn’t go back but now lives in fear.
Photograph: Tristan Mcconnell/AFP/Getty Images
Catherine said ten other young women abducted from nearby villages around the same time were also trapped as “wives”. In two bases at which she stayed, she said the women were routinely raped, abused and forced to do physical labour. Those who disobeyed their “husbands” could be put in prison or beaten. Many other women we met in Yambio in Western Equatoria region and the rebel base Li-rangu told similar stories. UN staff also told me they have spoken to dozens of women and girls who reported facing similar abuses.
There are few hard statistics, however, when it comes to the numbers of abducted women and girls held captive. Rebel commanders in western Equatoria denied that forced recruitment even takes place and insisted that all members join their ranks voluntarily. Furthermore, because sexual abuse is taboo, women can be reticent to tell their own stories. At the Li-rangu base, several women – wearing crisp military fatigues and brandishing AK47s – said they were proud to be in the group and we were unable to find out more.
By contrast, many women who were no longer part of armed groups described extensive abuse and fear of being kidnapped again. One girl who was abducted aged 15 but allowed to leave after nine months spoke of how her former commander had come looking for her several times since her release. To avoid re-abduction, her family moved her to another town.
Insufficient responses
The SPLM-IO’s recent release of over a hundred women and children is laudable, but much more needs to be done to both prevent further abductions and ensure the release of those still captive. It is also important to note that it’s not just the SPLM-IO guilty of such abuses. The UN lists several groups – including government forces and other rebel factions – who have committed grave violations, including kidnapping and rape, against children since the onset of the conflict in December 2013. Seven of the eight South Sudanese individuals under UN sanctions are implicated in sexual violence, among other crimes.