The Incident

South Sudan has been involved in a complex, muli-factioned civil war since 2013. Both militias and state are complicit in abducting women and girls as a weapon of terror throughout the country. Despite a peace agreement in 2018, such abductions continue to wreak horror.

Survivor’s Story

In June 2020, an unknown group attacked the village where young Nyalang Aru, possibly her real name, lived with her family. They abducted her, and her younger sister (neither knew their age) in broad daylight, with nobody in the village able to help them. For two weeks, she was made to walk for 14 days with her kidnappers across the countryside to an unknown destination. If she asked for water, or asked for her sister, the kidnappers beat her severely.  After about a year, her abductors handed her to a man in an unknown village. This person, nervous about housing an abductee, sent her to the village chief. This led to her eventual placement in a care centre and ultimately via UNICEF, her mother was traced. Nyalang was estimated to be 10 years old.

Perpetrators Information

Individual perpetrators in Nyalang’s case remain unidentified. `The involvement of militia leaders and the military in the abduction of women and children in South Sudan is widely acknowledged.

Legal Outcomes

As of November 2023, no legal proceedings have been initiated. No action has been taken against the perpetrators. There are discussions around establishing a hybrid court of South Sudanese and foreign jurists, but so far this has not commenced.

Laws and Protections

South Sudan has unsatisfactory criminal laws around about rape, crimes against humanity, and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV). This contributes to a lack of accountability for these acts. The state in fact participates in the crimes.