Final Evaluation: Strengthening Provision and Coordination of Services to Survivors of Rape and Early/Child Marriage in South Sudan

Location: South Sudan 

Grantee: STEWARDWOMEN 

Grant period: December 2019 – November 2022 

Grant amount: USD 715,000 

Authors/editors: George Ezatirale, Lead Consultant; and Dorothy Drabuga, Topista Gassi and Martin Wabusha Masongole, National Consultants 

Publication year: 2023 

The “Strengthening Provision and Coordination of Services to Survivors of Rape and Early/Child Marriage in South Sudan" project, funded by UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, was implemented from 2019 to 2022 by STEWARDWOMEN with the goal of empowering survivors of rape and early/child marriage in Jondoru and Rubkona Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps through enhancing their resilience using a rights-based approach; and creating an enabling and supportive environment for the prevention of rape and early/child marriage. Five main outcomes were set:  

• improve support services and referral information for sustainable recovery of survivors;  
• increase the capabilities of survivors to know and claim their rights;  
• improve the development and enforcement of survivor-centred policies on rape and early/child marriage;  
• increase the capabilities of general members of target IDP and host communities and leaders, local government officials, uniformed men and civil society organizations to manage survivors; and  
• strengthen the institutional response of STEWARDWOMEN to the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises.  

The final evaluation found that the project achieved its objectives. 

Main findings of the evaluation:  

• 19,677 primary beneficiaries, including 839 women/girl survivors of violence and 839 female refugees/internally displaced asylum-seekers, were reached through legal, medical and livelihood assistance as well as survivor support groups; and 9,052 secondary beneficiaries were reached through meetings, capacity building events and workshops. 
• The psychosocial support helped to heal survivors. 
• Survivors had the opportunity to seek medical care and litigation services, and to be integrated in the community by joining groups that helped them identify their talents and skills for income-generating activities. 
• 1,400 survivors accessed care and support services. 
• 825 survivors expressed increased knowledge on human rights and gender justice, and took action to claim their rights through mobile courts, mediation meetings and dialogues. 
• 825 survivors said the local authority fully involved them in policy development on rape and early/child marriage.  
• 12 project staff and other staff of civil society organizations reported increased knowledge and skills on humanitarian accountability standards as well as rape and early/child marriage. 
• 125 local government and community leaders reported having acted on rape and early/child marriage.