Climate Disasters, Mass Violence, and Human Mobility in South Sudan: Through a Gender Lens

Abstract

This article examines the links between gender, mass violence, climate change, and displacement in South Sudan. I argue for risk-informed gender-sensitive strategies that incorporate local capacities and sources of resilience. When civil war engulfed South Sudan again in 2013, egregious human rights violations, including sexual and gender-based violence, were perpetrated with near complete impunity. As the national army was divided along Dinka-Nuer ethnic lines, soldiers from each faction turned against each other in a deadly pattern of revenge and counter-revenge attacks that soon spread across the national territory. Inter-communal conflicts also intensified, often centering on competition over land for pasture, cattle raiding, and the abduction of women and children. Additionally, environmental challenges, including both droughts and severe flooding, as well as locust swarms, have resulted in widespread crop loss and property damage. Famine was declared in 2017, with current conditions classified as widespread acute food insecurity and acute malnutrition. The intersection of these multiple crises has displaced nearly 4 million people. Despite these seemingly insurmountable challenges, South Sudanese women have made significant strides in their push for inclusion in national peace processes.