The three most common child protection risks found in South Sudan are child marriage, neglect, and abduction / trafficking. These risks are followed by child labour, intrafamily conflict, violence, poverty, and separation from family.
Child protection risks in South Sudan
“We are lacking basic human needs such as nets and housing. Sharing the space with our brothers makes managing personal situations like menstruation very hard.”
Kondai, FGD with Girls, Save the Children, girl, 15-18 years.
Recruitment by armed groups for the ongoing conflict has a direct influence in the high numbers of abduction/trafficking occurring in Jonglei and the significant risk of separation from family found in Central Equatoria and Western Equatoria states.
Qualitative data also shows concerns for food security in the country. Informants for World Vision report that many homes in Juba could not manage to afford full meals for their families. Similar food scarcity has been reported in Mangala and in Timbura it was suggested that CVA can be used as a way to help families better access food.
Informants for Save the Children also report concerns regarding food insecurity. An expert consultant in Bor Stadium suggested that CVA can be combined with food distribution. Cases of severe malnutrition amongst children in Jonglei along with varying degrees of nutritional deficiencies have been reported too.
It is suggested that food scarcity can affect increasing levels of child labour and economic exploitation
(Children may be commonly employed as household keepers, shop sellers, or “wheelbarrow sellers” roaming on the streets).
Though child labour can be harmful and exploitative, it has also been suggested in interviews that child labour may result in “positively diminishing” the risk of food scarcity and malnutrition.
When looking at the main self-perceived child protection risks among children themselves, however, responses vary. The risk perceived as most serious by children among World Vision respondents is “abduction by Murle tribesmen”. This is followed by fears of infighting or other forms of violence and early and forced marriage, which is a risk that disproportionately affects girls. Most respondents unanimously agreed that child abduction and early and forced marriage are top protection risks affecting them.
The risk perceived as most serious by children among Save the Children respondents mentioned malnourishment, forced marriage, fighting with other boys, and rape and abduction. In most cases, children generally mentioned being physically punished by their parents.
To support project implementation, a baseline and needs assessment was conducted between November 2022 and January 2023.
The baseline study combined simple and stepwise sampling approaches and targeted youth, their caregivers and heads of households, as well as members of the broader community, such as health workers.
Background
South Sudan remains in a serious humanitarian crisis. Some 9.4 million people, 76% of the population, are estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance in 2023, an increase by half a million people compared to 2022. Women and children continue to be the most affected. The humanitarian crisis has been further exacerbated by the recent conflict in neighboring Sudan, which has led to an inflow of refugees and returnees into South Sudan. As of September 2023, 262,298 individuals have arrived in South Sudan, 91% of whom are South Sudanese returnees.
According to IOM report (2023) more than 259,451 individuals have fled from Sudan into neighboring South Sudan, with 49% being women and girls, 46% below the age of 18, and 4% over the age of 60. A striking 91% of those arriving are South Sudanese. There are concerns about gender-based violence (GBV), psychological trauma, children separated from their families and increased cases of early marriages, ongoing insecurity, and uncertainty about the future. The majority of the youths that participate in conflicts have less education, are not employed and have disengaged with the traditional authorities.
In Equatoria Region, the presence of small arms, light weapons, mine contamination and explosive remnants of war contribute to increased level of violence. South Sudanese women and girls continue to face the direct effect of violence and sexual gender-based violence.
Highly vulnerable returnees and refugees to South Sudan, fleeing the conflict in Sudan, are facing dire conditions in both transit areas near the border as well as in local host communities. Critical rates of acute malnutrition and measles outbreaks in transit locations, in addition to emergency levels of acute food insecurity in areas of return, signal a rising risk of preventable loss of life. As conditions worsen, additional funding is needed to ensure lifesaving aid can be sustained and to close alarming funding gaps that response actors currently face.
Majority of the women and girls affected by the conflict in Sudan and flooding in Upper Nile and Jonglei States are unemployed, some girls and women were subjected to rape and sexual abuses. This makes it easy for the youths to be easy targets for recruitment into the army or local militia groups. Which are linked to increasing poverty, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and psychological abuses.
About Joining Forces in South Sudan
Joining forces for Child Protection in Emergencies is supporting the vulnerable children with the aim of all children and adolescents affected by crisis live free from violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
World Vision international South Sudan is consortium member for the Joining Forces for Child Protection in Emergencies in Western Equatoria State – Tambura County (Source Yubu and Tambura Payam) and Central Equatorial State- Juba County (Munuki and Mangalla Payams).
Meanwhile, Save the Children International is implementing JF-CPiE in Jonglei State in Bor South County (Baidit, Jalle and Anyidi Payams) and Akobo County (Walgak, Boung, Denjok and Bilkey Payams).
The two consortium members (World Vision and Save the Children) in South Sudan are recently involved in organizing national advocacy campaign on Child Protection and food security and livelihood high level campaign.
The total budget for the Joining Forces for Child Protection in Emergencies in South Sudan is r € 1.2m + SCI € 1.2 m for duration of 2 years (July 5 th 2022 to June 2024).
What World Vision has done
In South Sudan, World Vision provided child and adolescent-friendly awareness raising sessions on key child protection risks to 6,951 children, of which 3,462 are girls, including 10 girls with disabilities and 3,489 boys, of which 9 are boys with disabilities.
Awareness sessions tackled Child Protection and Sexual and Gender-Based-Violence risks and related issues for children and adolescents, preventing recruitment, Children Associated with Armed Forces, early marriage, children rights, and Sexual and Gender Based- Violence for children and adolescents at schools.
Informational Education materials (IEC) like banners, stickers, posters and brochures with child protection and safeguarding key messages were developed and distributed to the child-friendly spaces and schools.
The project participated during special events including International African Child ‘s Day and International Women’s Day commemorations.
World Vision South Sudan has managed to distribute all the 4,000 culturally appropriate dignity kits to adolescent girls and women of reproductive age including survivors of Sexual Gender Based Violence and other vulnerable groups like persons with disabilities in the selected sites in Tambura and Juba Counties.
World Vision conducts Positive Parenting sessions to caregivers of vulnerable children and adolescents, including foster parents, parents of children living with disabilities and parents of children at risk of child marriage, on child and adolescent development, gender equality and gender equitable relationships and Child Protection risks.
What Save the Children has done
Save the Children provided psychosocial support and psychological first aid to 6,673 children and adolescents, of which 2,953 girls, including 36 girls with disabilities and 3,720 boys, of which 45 boys with disabilities. In addition, Save the Children distributed culturally appropriate dignity kits to 2,000 girls, of which 31 girls with disabilities.
From the 7 th of May to the 15th of June 2023 Save the Children conducted 2 separate radio talk shows on Radio Jonglei 95.9FM where 10,000 People were reached according to the radio coverage. The radio talk shows talked about the prevention of child and forced marriages, sexual exploitation and child neglect in Bor South County, Jonglei State.
Save the Children conducted 7 child and adolescent friendly awareness raising sessions on key child protection risks. 2,278 children, 1,039 girls, including 5 girls with disabilities and 1,239 boys, of which 14 boys with disabilities were reached. Similarly, 2,038 community members (782 Males, 1201 Females, 11 Girls and 44 Boys) were reached through child protection messages on abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence including sexual and gender-based violence through mass awareness and house-to-house awareness in Bor IDP Site, Bor stadium, Agorbar, Kondai 1 and 2 Internally Displaced Person (IDP) sites.
562 (176 Boys, 124 Girls, 132 Male, 130 Female) community members, students, stakeholders, government officials and members of different associations such as Jonglei Women’s Association, Youths and among others were reached during commemoration of the day of African Child in Bor South under the theme “The Rights of the Children in the Digital”.
60 (30 Males, 30 Females) caregivers and foster parents were graduated after having successfully completed their training on parenting without violence in Agorbar, Bor IDP site, Bor Stadium, Kondai and 2 IDP sites. Similarly, 120 (38 Male, 82 Female) caregivers and foster parents were trained on Positive discipline in Agorbar, Bor Stadium, Bor IDP Site, Kondai1 and 2 Internal Displaced Persons (IDP) Sites.
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Abut, 40, and her grandchildren at home in Bor, South Sudan IDP camp are among the 5,800 internal displaced people supported by JF-CPiE who aim to start a new life after being displacd by the floods and the conflict in 2022. […] - The future starts today
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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.