Sexual violence used as weapon of war in South Sudan

Sexual violence has been used as a weapon of war by all the parties of the South Sudan conflict, a United Nations envoy told the Security Council Tuesday, noting a significant increase of perpetrations this year.

Pramila Patten, the UN secretary-general’s special representative on sexual violence in conflict, said the UN has witnessed systematic patterns of sexual violence since 2013 when the conflict started in South Sudan, but the phenomenon “escalated dramatically” this year.

“In 2018, there has been a clear and alarming increase in the number of cases and victims of conflict-related sexual violence documented,” she said, adding that the number of victims has already reached 1,157, the highest recorded in the last three years.

First-hand testimony Patten heard indicated that rape was used by the attackers “to exercise power over their victims, impose extreme humiliation, destroy their dignity, and fracture families and the community.”