Nyamuch Johnson Lok [left], the trauma awareness specialist, and Juan Evalyn Mule [right], a mental health advocate during an interview with Eye Radio - Credit | Awan Moses/Eye Radio | April 13, 2022

Mental health advocates are calling for an end to domestic violence in South Sudan.

Domestic violence is the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another.

Juan Evalyn Mule believes many women and children are mentally ill and traumatized due to domestic violence.

Gender-based violence is a phenomenon deeply rooted in gender inequality and continues to be one of the most notable human rights violations within all societies.

Gender-based violence is violence directed against a person because of their gender.

Both women and men experience gender-based violence but the majority of victims are women and girls.

In early 2019, UNICEF South Sudan noted that Gender-based violence remains one of the most critical threats to the protection and well-being of women and children in South Sudan.

It said GBV was already widespread prior to the conflict and was nearing epidemic proportions.

According to Some South Sudanese human rights experts, these high levels of violence stem from the objectification of women and girls, which can be traced to one of the fundamental elements of South Sudan society: the local political economy of “bride price.”

Most of the gender-based violence survivors in South Sudan do not get justice for the wrongs they suffer. Some of them even fear to speak out for fear of revenge from the perpetrator.

Speaking to Eye Radio this morning, mental health advocate, Juan Evalyn Mule said domestic violence is contributing to mental health problems for women and children in the country.

She called for an end to violence against women and children.

“Domestic violence is one of the greatest causes of mental health issues or trauma in our societies and I condemn it in the strongest way possible,” Juan said.

“Beating a child for something he has done, and telling a child this is not right has so much difference from domestic violence.

“Domestic violence, physical abuse, psychological, emotional and torture are one of the greatest factors that bring about mental health crisis.

“Nobody should support domestic violence and our communities and leaders should take it upon themselves to really make sure domestic violence cases are reported and these culprits are actually punished.”

For her part, the trauma awareness specialist, Nyamuch Lok says such harmful traditional practices hinder women from progressing.

Harmful traditional practices are forms of violence committed primarily against women and girls in certain communities for so long that they are considered, or presented by perpetrators, as part of accepted cultural practices.

They include forced or early marriage, ‘honor’ based violence, female genital mutilation or cutting, among other practices that deny women the right to property.

UN reports indicate these forms of violence, including rape, have been persistent in South Sudan.

Nyamuch told the Dawn show today that such harmful cultural practices are traumatizing women.

“Women also need to know that, you don’t need to be beaten for a man to prove himself to you, it is not only men that are beating women, even some women are beating their husbands. So domestic violence is happening both ways,” Nyamuch said.

“Some of our traditions and harmful cultural practices are happening in our communities, and they are really causing trauma.

“We talk of forced marriages and early child marriages, these are things that are really making life hard. If you beat them you are transferring that trauma to the children and they will grow violently.

“We need to give this awareness to our communities, such as child marriages and domestic violence, we will not be able to grow as South Sudanese if we still do these harmful cultural practices.”

According to the UN reports, gender-based violence, or GBV – including rape, sexual assault, harassment, domestic violence, and forced marriages have been a persistent problem in South Sudan.