This research report presents the findings of case study research in Eastern
Equatoria State in South Sudan, carried out within the Power, Violence, Citizenship
and Agency (PVCA) programme. The report describes forms of gendered violence
at the local level in an insecure state. In post-civil war South Sudan, citizens
experience a deep sense of insecurity due to actual incidents of violence in their
home areas and to reports they hear about violent conflict elsewhere in the
country. This sense of insecurity is exacerbated by the lack of protection from the
state and the perceived injustice in the national political settlement. In response to
this sense of insecurity, citizens develop protection strategies based on local
institutions. These strategies are mainly developed by men. Though women are
excluded from the institutions that govern security arrangements, they exercise
subtle forms of agency to influence local institutions.