Women and Girls for Change 2020 SUMMARY: The Women and Girls for Change Alliance was established in 2016 with the aim to empower an inclusive environment where women and girls in South Sudan feel safer and are enabled to realize their rights and opportunities, to play a significant role in sustainable peace. The WG4C Alliance works under the framework of the Dutch National Action Plan on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 Women, Peace, Security. The WG4C Alliance has been collaborating between 2016-2019. This project is a one-year extension of the WG4C program until the end of 2020. The proposed activities in this WG4C program are contributing to all three sub-objectives that are mentioned in the Policy Framework: A. Protection of women and girls in conflict and post-conflict situations; B. Fighting against discriminating gender norms, which are obstacles for women to lasting peace; C. Creating equal participation for women in conflict prevention and resolution, peacebuilding, assistance and reconstruction. Key features of South Sudan’s society are pervasive insecurity and deeply entrenched gender inequality, both of which are linked to multi-level cycles of violence. Weak governance in governmental and oppositional held territories, characterized by high levels of impunity means that perpetrators of SGBV usually evade justice. This leaves victims, mostly women and girls, without a chance of redress. Even though South Sudan has both a statutory law (for criminal cases) and customary system (for civil cases), for most South Sudanese men and women, seeking justice means accepting the decisions of ‘traditional’ leaders (chiefs and elders) who act in an informal hierarchy in most Bomas (A-Court), Payams (B-Court) and Counties (C-court) and who administer also the large majority of criminal cases and virtually all civil cases. Application of customary laws often happens at the detriment of human rights principles, especially the rights of women and girls.
While representatives of the parties to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) agreed to a 6-month extension of the pre-transition period to November 2019, the high-level political conflict continues as well as concurrent inter- and intra-communal conflicts. Gender identities, norms and stereotypes play a role as drivers of conflict and at the same time other drivers of conflict are reinforcing gender inequality and sexual and gender-based violence (S/GBV). Overall, South Sudanese women still lack meaningful access to structures that aim to transform conflict and increase democratic governance at local, subnational and national levels. However, the current ‘no war, no peace’ situation presents as well an opportunity for women to take their rightful position in society. The relative stability enables women leaders at the community level to connect to women leaders at state and national level across conflict lines. This motivates the WG4CA to continue its programme in the three states in 2020. In the proposal development workshop it was stated that the barriers identified in the ToC are still applicable in 2020: A legacy of war, normalizing a culture of violence; Deeply rooted gender imbalance and inequality: based on internalized ‘traditional’ values and social norms, unequal treatment and exclusion from decision making of women and girls appear legitimate; Continuous economic crisis results in forced survival/negative coping mechanisms; Weak rule of law: declining influence of traditional authorities, weak state institutions and a culture of impunity limits women's and girls' access to protection, education, medical and legal services. Based on the results and experience of WG4CA 2016-2019, the alliance acknowledges that the combination of the three approached is leading to enhanced protection of women and girls in conflict and post-conflict situations, changes in gender norms, and equal participation of women in conflict prevention and resolution, peacebuilding, assistance and reconstruction in South Sudan. In order to enable meaningful and equal participation of women in conflict prevention, resolution and peacebuilding, advocacy and lobbying are not sufficient: the environment needs to be conducive for women and girls to feel free and safe to express themselves and participate in decision making as equal to men; women and girls need to be empowered to realize their positive value and active role in lasting conflict prevention and resolution. By combatting attitudes and beliefs that perpetuate women’s exclusion, gender norms are transformed that are obstacles for non-violent conflict resolution and an enabling environment in which women can take a decision making role towards matters of peace and security. Finally, by transforming harmful attitudes and beliefs women and girls will be less likely to become victims of conflict-related violence.
Our gender transformative approach mixing capacity building of community members, such as traditional court members, gender advocates, psychosocial focal points, police as actors of change, while raising awareness and engaging local authorities and various community members, including survivors of SGBV into changes in attitudes and behaviour, was found relevant, especially the engagement of men and boys, which will be continued in this 2020 programme. These best practices will help the WG4CA to continue working towards a community-driven, inter-generational and lasting change, engaging girls, women, boys, and men. This also forms the best basis for our influencing and advocacy work towards lasting implementation of laws and policies favorable to the participation and protection of women. The capacity building events, public gathering, and school clubs will leave lasting effects to individuals, households and communities as such events are educative and transformational. Permanent effects around respect for the rights and dignity of women and girls are expected to be seen at the targeted locations and among the beneficiaries. The 2018 evaluation of PAX has already shown that programming in Unity/lakes catalyzed attitude and behavioural changes which are likely longer-term due to intrinsic changes in understanding and motivating. Furthermore, the WG4C Alliance has a long track record of gender transformation and women empowerment projects in the areas of implementation and has made the 1325 agenda one of its priorities for the years to come as amplified in its organizational strategy. Through this project, the WG4C partners will solidify local expertise, which in turn will make the implementing partners in South Sudan a key actor in the targeted regions with a strong network and expertise to promote gender equality.