Women leaders speaking on Eye Radio's Under the Tree Program on Friday, July 18th, 2025 - Photo credit: Awan Moses/Eye Radio

A number of women-led civil society organizations are calling for the urgent passing of the Family Law and Anti-Gender-Based Violence bills to help survivors of GBV access justice.

Officials from the National Women Empowerment and Rehabilitation Organization (NWERO) and the Grassroots Women Network (GWN) say there are still many challenges that make it hard for survivors to get justice.

Sunday Mogga, the Executive Director of the Grassroots Women Network, says survivors face delays in getting help from the police and hospitals.

She added that poor transport and communication, as well as cultural barriers, make the situation worse.

“Another challenge is access to justice, sometimes there is delay in the process and even sometimes handling survivors, a case may happen abruptly and needs a process from the police and the hospital, lack of transport,” she said.

Joyce Konga, the Assistant Protection Officer at NWERO, says lack of funding and delays in getting security clearance also make it hard for them to conduct awareness campaigns in time.

“The first challenge for us as civil society if the lack of resources for us to cover the whole of South Sudan. Sometimes, when we want to conduct activities or awareness, sometimes, the security clearance delays and yet you have a timeline of activities,” Konga said.

Another official at NWERO, Irene Nartizio, says without proper laws, efforts by civil society organizations may not have a big impact. She believes the signing of the Anti-GBV and Family Law bills would help protect survivors and hold perpetrators accountable.

“… we do not have laws that can hold the perpetrator accountable, then we are still working in on a lower ground. So, i think some of the laws need to be passed to support the GBV survivors,” Naritizio said.

Rebecca Tuwom, the Chairperson of the Visually Impaired Women Group under the South Sudan Association of the Visually Impaired, says the policies are not inclusive of persons with disabilities.

“When people see you are handicapped, they think you unfit to do something. We still have to continue with more awareness raising, i know it is a lot of work but change will happen. The other challenge is the cultural norms especially forced marriages that happens to women with disabilities,” she said.

The civil society groups are urging lawmakers to act quickly and pass the pending laws to ensure survivors of GBV receive protection and justice.