Women’s groups, government officials and humanitarian partners have called for stronger community participation in the development of an Eastern Equatoria State Anti-Gender-Based Violence Bill, warning that harmful cultural practices and deeply rooted gender stereotypes continue to expose women and girls to abuse.
Stakeholders in South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria State have begun a two-day public consultation on the draft Anti-Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Bill, aimed at strengthening legal protection for survivors and establishing stringent mechanisms to address perpetrators.
The consultation, organized by Itwak Women Empowerment Organization (IWEO) in partnership with Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), the Women-Led Network and the State Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare, opened on Thursday at Hotel Torit and is scheduled to conclude on Friday.
The proposed legislation seeks to prevent gender-based violence, protect survivors and establish a stronger legal framework for holding perpetrators accountable.
Speaking at the opening of the consultation, Ochan Dominic, a representative of IWEO, said the process began earlier with support from the Women-Led Network but was delayed before partners revived it.
He said the consultation was an important opportunity to secure public ownership of the proposed legislation by allowing different stakeholders to examine and contribute to its provisions before it proceeds to the next stages.
“This process started earlier with the support of the Women-Led Network, but at a certain point, it got a little bit stalled. We saw the need for this very important process to continue until its completion,” Dominic said.
He emphasized that gender-based violence was not limited to physical assault, saying it could manifest through verbal abuse and other forms of mistreatment in families, schools, hospitals, workplaces, and other institutions.
“When we participate in this process, we become owners of the bill. It is better than bringing out something that is already finished without allowing people to contribute,” he stated. “Once stakeholders understand the process, they will be able to support it and communicate its importance to the wider population.”
He further noted that although the state parliament was currently not functioning, the consultation process should continue so that the bill could progress when the legislative institution resumes its work.
Meanwhile, Idwa Dominica Vitale, Director General in the State Ministry of Gender and Social Welfare, called on participants to openly discuss harmful cultural practices and gender stereotypes that have contributed to the normalization of violence in communities.
She described the proposed GBV Bill as an important legal framework that should guide conduct in families, workplaces and communities.
Idwa said Eastern Equatoria needed to adapt the proposed legislation to its local realities, taking into consideration the state’s diverse cultural practices and traditions.
“Today, in Eastern Equatoria, we are going to adapt what was done at the national level and consult our communities based on the context of Eastern Equatoria,” Idwa said. “Somebody can punish you for one full year, particularly in an intimate relationship, and you may think that it is their right. That is the stereotype we need to challenge.”
She cautioned that some harmful practices had become normalized because of cultural beliefs, with victims sometimes accepting abuse as part of their rights or obligations within relationships.
“Please participate fully. Do not hide anything. This is consultation. Whatever is within your culture, bring it out,” she said. “We need to examine it, identify what is good and what is harmful. We should put aside the bad practices and retain what is good for our communities.”
The ministry official also recommended that consultations be extended to grassroots communities to ensure that views from different ethnic and cultural groups across Eastern Equatoria are reflected in the final legislation.
For his part, Joshua Atem, NCA’s GBV officer, called for improved communication during the consultation, particularly through translation between English and Arabic to ensure that all participants understood the discussions and could contribute meaningfully.
He said language barriers could undermine public participation. He appealed to participants who could speak both languages to volunteer to provide brief translations or summaries of key contributions.
The two-day consultation comes amid continuing efforts by women-led organizations and government institutions to strengthen the response to gender-based violence and improve protection mechanisms for vulnerable groups.
Once consultations are completed, stakeholders are expected to incorporate relevant recommendations into the draft legislation before it proceeds through the remaining processes towards consideration by the state legislature.
The consultation is expected to provide an opportunity for communities to move beyond discussing gender-based violence as a social problem and contribute to establishing a stronger legal framework for prevention, protection and accountability in Eastern Equatoria State.
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