YEI, South Sudan (AP) – First, the soldiers stole their belongings. Then they took their food. On their third and final visit, the woman said, the soldiers raped her and her daughter-in-law until they could no longer walk.
What sets these attacks in South Sudan apart from many other rapes by soldiers in the troubled country is this: the women brought the men to justice and won.
Ten years after South Sudan gained independence and two years after its own deadly civil war ended, the widespread fighting has subsided, but the clashes continue between communities and between the government and groups that have not signed the peace deal – and the use of rape as a weapon continues to reign supreme. Justice is extremely rare, but September’s conviction has raised hopes that such crimes will be increasingly prosecuted.
“I was traumatized,” the older of the two women, a 48-year-old mother of eight, told The Associated Press in Yei, a town in the southern state of Central Equatoria where she now lives. The AP does not typically identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they give permission, and the woman said she continues to fear for her safety and, for example, is too scared to return to her hometown of Adio.
She said she has found some comfort in seeing her two assailants convicted and sent to prison after reporting the rape to South Sudan’s army chief in May when he visited her village. Responding to growing frustration at such crimes, a new army chief of staff sent military judges from the capital, Juba, to oversee the case and those of ten other women and girls who had also come forward.
In the end, 26 soldiers were convicted, some for rape but others for crimes, including looting. It was the first time that soldiers had been convicted of rape since the 2016 disaster at the Terrain Hotel, where five international aid workers were raped and a local journalist murdered.
The military hopes the trial will serve as a warning to its troops.
“We apologize, we will not let it happen again, and we will arrest people who do it,” said Michael Machar Malual, chief of civil-military relations for the military in Central Equatoria state. A government spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
Woman hopes verdict will encourage more survivors to speak out in a country where sexual assault is a scourge.
About 65% of women and girls in South Sudan have experienced sexual or other physical violence, the United Nations Children’s Organization said in 2019.
Between July and September, the UN reported an 88% increase in conflict-related sexual violence over the previous quarter, even as overall violence declined. It said there were a total of more than 260 “violent incidents” during the period, but it did not specify how much sexual violence involved.
The villages around Yei have been badly hit as the fight continues between government forces and the National Salvation Front, which failed to sign the peace deal.
Citizens say they are in the thick of it, with women often accused by soldiers of supporting the rebels – and being attacked – especially when their husbands aren’t around.
In February, three women and a 14-year-old girl were raped by soldiers about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Yei, according to a report by the independent agency charged with overseeing the implementation of the peace deal. A woman was raped while being held at gunpoint, the report said.
When the AP visited Yei in December, civilians and soldiers said the situation was improving and there were fewer reports of sexual assaults since the trial. The once vibrant city and nearby villages slowly come back to life after the war.
Still, some residents said they felt just as unsafe as ever. A group of women walking home from the market said they hid their food in the bushes, afraid that hungry soldiers would steal it from their homes. An economic crisis in South Sudan fueled by a drop in oil prices and the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic means soldiers haven’t been paid for months – and experts warn of famine.
Rights groups have hailed the recent case as important – but only a first step – and are urging the government to be more accountable.
“This should be a lesson for those in power, especially those with guns, to know that they are not above the law,” said Riya William Yuyada, executive director of Crown the Woman South Sudan, an advocacy group that works with the government. insisted on accountability.
A hybrid court should be established as part of the peace deal to try people accused of committing wartime atrocities, but implementation is slow. Nyagoah Tut Pur, an investigator at Human Rights Watch, noted that those convicted of such crimes are often inferior officials, and senior leaders should be held accountable. She added that accountability should also include compensation and survivor services.
Some women who have been mistreated by soldiers have taken matters into their own hands.
In 2017, Mary Poni said she saw soldiers decapitate her father and group three of her sisters until they died, before she was attacked herself. She has written a book about her experiences in the hope that it will be a small step towards reconciliation in her country.
“I want the civilian population to have confidence in the military, and for the military to be able to protect our women and girls,” Poni said. “Women live in silent fear, unable to be open to things they’ve been through.”
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Associated Press writer Maura Ajak in Juba, South Sudan, contributed to this report