Lifting Up Women Leaders in South Sudan
The Dallaire Institute has successfully increased the impact and capacity of South Sudanese women leaders to prevent armed violence against children, helping them strengthen the power of their voices and gain access to peace and security tables. This innovative pilot project, Fund for Innovation and Transformation (FIT), ran between June 2021 and April 2022.
Varying levels of mistrust among police and women-led civil society organizations (CSO) in South Sudan meant women leaders lacked meaningful participation in the country’s peace and security processes to prevent the recruitment and use of children in armed violence.
“I was fearful to approach the security sector actors, especially the army and the police,” said Christina, Legal Aid Officer. “Issues related to law or child protection were out of reach because of the lack of access to information.”
Drawing on our vast experience bringing humanitarians and security actors into dialogue, our team provided 45 women leaders in South Sudan with mentorship, technical assistance and training to help them better understand the impacts of child recruitment and become actively engaged in leadership roles. Our work invested trainees with greater confidence and helped them become an important resource for the police in developing approaches to prevention of conflicted-related sexual violence against girls and boys.
The project inspired women leaders in South Sudan to establish the Women’s National Network (WNN). As part of our objectives, we conducted two workshops and two roundtable discussions that provided the WNN with a platform to engage in dialogue with security sector stakeholders and government ministries on how to best prevent grave violations against children. In partnership with the WNN, our team also led discussions to engage and build trust among local community leaders, youth groups, women leaders and members of the police.
“I am now part of the decision-making process amongst the men, to be a voice for the voiceless in protecting children from violence,” said Mary Nyathiel, Community Chief. “The women from our committee are now managing to reduce the risk of children’s recruitment with armed groups.”
We are continuing to work with our partners in South Sudan on more FIT innovation activities through fundraising and sub granting to women-led CSOs across the country, such as continuing police training, and scaling up training and dialogue in other states, where capacity and awareness remain low and recruitment and use of child soldiers are reported to be higher.
Help us continue the important work of women leaders, like Christina and Mary, and end armed conflict violence against children by donating to Dallaire Institute’s #EmpowerToPrevent campaign.
FIT Results:
95% of targeted women-led CSO members & police officers reported awareness of the Vancouver Principles in South Sudan with emphasis on VP #11: Women’s Role in Preventing the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers,
74% of CSO and police members reported they are prioritizing prevention of recruitment and CRSV against children
56% of women-led CSO members demonstrated improved knowledge and skills
When you support Dallaire Institute, you facilitate meaningful and sustainable work to help prevent the recruitment and use of girls and boys in armed violence and conflict-related sexual violence. #empowertoprevent
