Women and girls raped as ‘wages’ for govt forces in South Sudan

The rape and violence on women and girls in conflict zones continue to make headlines. There are reports that women and girls are being raped as ‘wages’ for government-allied fighters in Bentiu, South Sudan, in a conflict between government forces and rebels.

“Their pay is what they loot and the women they abduct,” a military expert told the Guardian, and in a testimony one of the victims said: “When one of the soldiers wanted to have sex with one of us, he would come and untie us, take us away then bring us back to tie up”.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has documented shocking accounts of the abductions, rapes and killings in a 42-page report, “They Burned it All: Destruction of Villages, Killings, and Sexual Violence in South Sudan’s Unity State”.

The report is based on more than 170 interviews in June and July with survivors and witnesses of the rape and violence. The reported rape “cases include brutal gang rapes, rapes that took place publicly in front of others, and rapes in which the victims were threatened with murder before they were raped” HRW said.

Source: The Guardian