Final Evaluation: Challenging Patterns and Drivers of Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls in Wau State, South Sudan 

Location: South Sudan  

Grantee: Strategic Initiative for Women in The Horn of Africa (SIHA) Network  

Grant period: 1 September 2018 – 31 December 2021  

Grant amount: USD 705,769  

Authors/editors: Smart Edge Research & Consulting  

Publication year: 2022  

The “Challenging Patterns and Drivers of Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls in Wau State, South Sudan”, funded by the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, was implemented between September 2018 and December 2021 by the Strategic Initiative for Women in The Horn of Africa (SIHA) Network. The project’s main objectives were to identify the specific socio-cultural, political and historical context and root causes of sexual, gendered-based violence in Wau District Internally Displaced Person (IDP) communities and to inform the school curriculum and engagement activities. The project aimed for four outcomes:  

• parents, students, teachers and administrators of schools in Wau District are better able to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls;  
• grassroots organizations, women and activists advocate for and engage the community to end gender-based violence;  
• boys, traditional/religious leaders and the broader targeted community are able to support survivors and prevent violence; and 
• SIHA is institutionally strengthened to sustainably respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises while maintaining or adapting existing interventions to end gender-based violence.  

Main findings of the evaluation:  

• By the project end, there was increased knowledge, understanding and comprehension of sexual and gender-based violence among all the project beneficiaries.
• The project engaged a range of community members, including: 84 teachers and school administrators who learned how to deal with cases of violence against women and girls; 1,250 students made aware of and reporting a willingness to use referral mechanisms in schools for cases of violence; and 1,196 men, boys, and traditional and religious leaders who by project end demonstrated a high level of support for gender equitable norms.  
• 30 women developed increased control and decision-making regarding issues affecting their everyday activities, making their village/neighbourhood a better place in which to live.