In 2021, conflict erupted between warring groups in Tambura county, South Sudan. At least 64 civilians were subjected to conflict-related sexual violence and some 80,000 were forced to flee their homes to escape fighting due to massive abductions. While in the Internally Displaced Persons camps, adolescent girls and women of reproductive ages in Source Yubu, Tambura were at risk for gender-based violence when they leave the camps to collect firewood. Fear of reprisals from attackers often prevents rape survivors from seeking medical help or legal assistance.
Getting sanitary pads for adolescent girl or a woman of reproductive age was a nightmare. Most girls stopped schooling due to lack to dignity kits.
During the JF-CPiE baseline survey and needs assessment in January 2023, it was recommended that that girls of reproductive age are to be provided with the dignity kits to address menstrual hygiene while at schools and in their homes.
Like many other girls in South Sudan, 15 years old Joyce, who has been visiting World Vision-supported Child-Friendly Space at Renzi in Tambura Western Equatoria State. She was excited when she benefited from dignity kits distribution last April 2023.
Joyce had been missing school each month due to her inability to afford sanitary pads to cope with the stigma associated with menstrual hygiene. She was worried that her absences would hinder her from achieving her dream of becoming a nurse. Hence, when she received the dignity kit, she felt her life is going to change and she was so happy
“The dignity kit made me feel more like myself again after suffering for long time. It has given me the required items to take care of my personal hygiene and dignity. The kit has made my life a little bit easier and better now. I can move, go to school and to the market, see friends, and play freely without fear,” she exclaimed.
Joyce was among the 4,000 girls and teenage women, including survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and other vulnerable groups, in Tambura and Juba who received culturally-appropriate dignity kits as part of the Joining Forces for Child Protection in Emergencies project. The kit has made my life a little bit easier. I can move, go to school and market, see friends, and play freely without fear.
The JF-CPiE project established and supported eight child and youth safe spaces in Tambura and Juba Counties. The spaces have been essential in providing psychosocial support, counseling, identifying the most vulnerable, and referral to other external service providers.
Dignity kits promote protection, physical and psychosocial well-being, mobility, and hygiene for girls and women of reproductive age and girls at risk. The kits allow women and girls to meet their own needs while also meeting the needs of their families.
The value of dignity kits is more than material. Receiving dignity kits in a time of need was beneficial to girls and women as it made them feel as though they had not been forgotten.
Preserving dignity is essential to maintaining self-esteem and confidence, which are critical to protection and coping in stressful humanitarian situations.
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 | This publication was produced with the financial support of the German Humanitarian Assistance Its contents are the sole responsibility of Joining Forces and do not necessarily reflect the views of the German Humanitarian Assistance. |