Gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the most serious threats to the protection and wellbeing of children and women in South Sudan. Local communities consistently cite sexual violence as the greatest protection concern for women and girls. According to aUNICEF briefing note, 2019: almost 65 per cent of women and girls have experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime, and some 51 per cent have suffered intimate partner violence (IPV).

Some 33 per cent of women have experienced sexual violence from a non-partner, primarily during attacks or raids. The majority of girls and women experience sexual violence for the first time under the age of 18. Children comprise around 25 per cent of all reported cases of conflict-related sexual violence, though there are concerns numbers may be much higher.