Psychological Effect of Civil Strife on Women and Girls in South Sudan

Abstract

Over the years, the characterization of civil war in South Sudan has taken the nature of the dehumanization of women and girls, who gradually transforms from war victims into legitimate targets. Since 1991, civil strife in the country brought about the wanton destruction of property and lives. The scale and brutality include rape, gang rape, forced marriages, sexual assault, mutilation, marginalization, and any other form of violence towards this vulnerable population. This invariably undermined the key roles played by women in nation-building, development, and political stability. Given this premise, the paper examines the psychological distress of women and girls in the aftermath of civil strife in South Sudan. To unravel this, the paper complements the structural and cultural violence theory, with the qualitative secondary sources of data collection. The result indicates women and girls suffer from intense psychological stigmatization, depression, and various forms of mental health challenges. The paper concludes that both the short and long-term mental health programs and strategies be put in place for the reintegration of women and girls who were victims of war.