South Sudan Supreme Court chief establishes Gender Based Violence Court

South Sudan Chief Justice Chan Reec Madut speaking during the opening of local court in Juba, South Sudan, on December 3, 2020 [Photo by Sudans Post]

South Sudan Chief Justice Chan Reec Madut speaking during the opening of local court in Juba, South Sudan, on December 3, 2020 [Photo by Sudans Post]

JUBA – The Judiciary of South Sudan has established a special court to handle crimes related to Gender-based Violence and juvenile in the country.

According to Eye Radio, older women and girls have been subjected to rape in parts of Yei River, Upper Nile and Unity state.

The UNMISS human rights division said it has documented 95 separate incidents of violations and abuses against women and girls  in the period from September 2018 until April 2019.

The report said the atrocities were committed by government forces, SPLA-IO, National Salvation Front or NAS and the South Sudan National Movement for Change or SSNMC.

It revealed that least 150 civilians were also held in captivity by these groups, including women and girls taken as “wives” by commanders or raped and beaten by multiple fighters.

In his remarks during the official inauguration of the GBV court, Chief Justice of South Sudan Judiciary, Chan Reech Madut stressed for the need to discourage violence against women.

“Gender based violence is a reality and it is happening every minute in our society and in our country. Gender based violence could be sexual, could be physical, could be physiology,” Reech said.

Justice Reech believed that gender based violence is against the religious beliefs as well as our customs of the world’s youngest nation.

“Gender based violence is a result of ignorance of some men who think that they are more superior than the women and this is rubbish. Think such men need medical attention because the way they think is not normal,” he said.

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