South Sudan

For women and girls, instability translates into daily insecurity, collapsing services, and deepening hunger. Armed actors are increasingly attacking and kidnapping young girls, often while they are walking to school. This violence largely stems from inter-communal disputes and further impedes girls’ access to education. Essential services like medical care and psychosocial support remain limited, with healthcare infrastructure and hospitals attacked at least six times in 2025. Insecurity and US foreign aid cuts have now forced numerous facilities to close, cutting off women and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive care, trauma support, and other lifesaving medical services. South Sudan also faces a worsening food crisis, with two counties in the conflict-affected Upper Nile State nearing famine, and hunger projected to reach record levels, disproportionately affecting women and girls—particularly those returning from Sudan. Despite these obstacles, women leaders in South Sudan continue to call for peace and greater inclusion in decision-making. South Sudan also maintains a 35 percent quota for women’s political representation, although implementation typically falls short. The South Sudanese Women’s Union has demanded that warring parties end the violence and highlighted the disproportionate impact of the conflict on women.

A return to full-scale war remains the greatest threat to women and girls’ wellbeing; this would likely drive a surge in sexual and gender-based violence—a pattern observed in the country’s prior civil war—particularly if violence fractures along ethnic lines. Resumption of conflict also threatens to reverse gains made in improving women’s and girls’ status. South Sudan is highly exposed to climate change; this will likely further compound decreased agricultural output and food access in conflict-affected areas, with women and girls more vulnerable to extreme heat, given they more frequently perform tasks like fetching water and farming. South Sudan’s already beleaguered healthcare system is contending with existential threat, as foreign aid previously provided 80 percent of its funding. Yet, even with elections postponed to December 2026, South Sudanese women are already preparing to run for office. Female candidates and political leaders, however, still encounter backlash due to patriarchal gender norms. Ensuring women’s safety and participation in political processes will be essential to building durable peace and preventing cyclical violence.

Escalating violence and political tensions are undermining the 2018 revitalized peace agreement, raising concerns that recent clashes could reverse fragile gains and push the country toward renewed large-scale conflict. Renewed fighting has targeted civilian infrastructure including healthcare facilities, compounding already-limited access to essential services. Insecurity is driving mass displacement, with more than 100 women and girls forced to flee their homes every hour, often going days without access to food, shelter, or basic services. These conditions increase women and girls’ exposure to violence, family separation, and loss of livelihoods, compounding risks of gender-based violence and limiting access to protection and services. 

South Sudan faces a worsening food security crisis amid intensifying conflict, displacement, and economic strain—exacerbated by rising fuel prices and supply chain disruptions due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Millions are expected to experience acute hunger, with four counties at risk of famine. Persistent violence has disrupted agricultural production while funding cuts and political tensions are limiting access to food and assistance. Women and women-headed households—already among the most vulnerable—are disproportionately affected, facing increased barriers to food access and livelihoods. Heightened food insecurity is likely to increase exposure to exploitation and gender-based violence, as women and girls travel further for resources or engage in negative coping strategies.

Sexual violence against women and girls is increasing in scale and severity, with reports indicating its continued use by armed actors alongside broader patterns of abuse linked to displacement and insecurity. Gaps in protection infrastructure and access to safe spaces and healthcare leave survivors without support in conflict-affected areas. At the same time, rising insecurity and displacement are contributing to increased risks of child trafficking and exploitation, particularly for girls separated from family or support networks.

Violence in South Sudan has reportedly reached the highest level since 2017, with patterns of attacks increasingly targeting civilians, including women and girls. Experts warn that key risk factors for mass atrocities—including ethnic targeting, widespread sexual violence, and impunity—are emerging. Political developments, including the prosecution of senior opposition figures, are further exacerbating tensions and raising concerns about the use of state institutions to consolidate power. These dynamics heighten the risk of large-scale violence and reinforce patterns of insecurity that disproportionately impact women and girls through targeted abuse, displacement, and exclusion from protection mechanisms.

Mobile Courts were deployed in March 2026 by South Sudan’s Judiciary and Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, with support from the UN Mission in South Sudan. These courts fill a critical gap—particularly for rural communities, including in Central Equatoria State and Unity State—by  helping to process and hear criminal complaints, including at least 25 cases of sexual and gender-based violence. The court in southern Unity has thus far decided more than 64 criminal and civil cases, marking a major step in addressing the backlog—particularly for crimes against women and girls—and advancing accountability for survivors.