Gender Equality and Elections: Violence Against Women in Elections
27-29 January 2025
South Sudan

The United Nations Integrated Electoral Assistance Team (IEAT) in South Sudan, in collaboration with the National Elections Commission (NEC), organized a three-day BRIDGE modular workshop on Gender Equality and Elections, with a particular focus on Violence Against Women in Elections (VAWiE). The workshop convened key stakeholders who play a critical role in promoting a gender-balanced and violence-free electoral process, including representatives from the National Elections Commissions, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), the Political Party Council, and the security sector.
This workshop was designed for individuals working to ensure women’s effective participation in electoral processes and to prevent or mitigate the prevalence of VAWiE. The objectives of the workshop included:
- Reviewing common barriers to women’s political participation;
- Introducing fundamental concepts of VAWiE and the challenges in addressing it;
- Defining the forms that VAWiE takes and illustrate the victims and the perpetrators;
- Discussing the roles of stakeholders in combating VAWiE throughout the electoral cycle;
- Offering actionable strategies to prevent and mitigate VAWiE, informed by good practices during pre-election, election, and post-election phases; and
- Addressing VAWiE through strategic planning.
The workshop, conducted in Juba, South Sudan from January 27-29 2025 was led by BRIDGE facilitators Natia Kashakashvili and Shalva Tskhakaya. Twenty-six participants (18 female and 8 male) attended the workshop.
Participants of the workshop were taken through the introductory/warm-up activities before diving into the topical session. Participants have discussed barriers of Women Political Participation (WPP) and identified electoral violence as one of the impediments of the WPP. The concepts of equality vs. equity vs. systemic barriers were presented as part of ensuring gender equality (the concepts were highly appreciated by the participants even at the time of presentation). The main concepts of VAWiE were presented by explaining the definitions, triggers and the impact of the VAWiE on WPP. Participants were then asked to characterize VAWiE challenges from the perspective of South Sudan context. The outcome of this activity was addressed during the next 2-days of the workshop as the basis to focus the prevention/mitigation measures on the challenging factors of the VAWiE in South Sudan.
During the second day of the workshop, participants understood the typology of the VAWiE: forms, victims and the perpetrators. VAWiE in online spaces was also presented as part of VAWiE location typology. The facilitators have explained in detail the Electoral Cycle stages and together with participants identified the most vulnerable stages for electoral violence. Participants then understood the steps of assessing the risk of VAWiE prevalence through the activity of “occurrence likelihood” matched with the impact of the identified risks. Participants have identified the key stakeholders of VAWiE in South Sudan and discussed the stakeholder cooperation on various activities throughout the electoral cycle.
Third day solely focused on the recommended Action points of preventing/mitigating VAWiE through the 6 topical areas: first, participants have understood good practices from the other countries and then, have drafted recommended action points for South Sudan during pre-election, election and post-election periods. Participants then identified the activities that need advocacy and have practiced strategizing the advocacy campaign. Participants were then unified into the organizations (NEC, CSO, Law Enforcement and PPC) and they have drafted strategic plan for addressing VAWiE in South Sudan for the upcoming elections.
Based on the analysis of participants’ written feedback, several key themes emerged regarding the most valuable aspects of the sessions.
Participants found significant value in the sessions focusing on typology of Violence Against Women in Elections (VAWiE); thorough examination and comprehensive approach to inspecting real-life examples/challenges faced by women in elections was described as an “eye-opener,” with participants appreciating how the content was contextualized for their understanding.
Risk assessment session was particularly valued for the methodology/approach used to identify the potential risks. Participants highlighted the importance of learning about global and regional statistics on women’s representation, understanding gender stereotypes, and identifying barriers to women’s political participation. The session on mitigation strategies were noted as technically challenging but were made accessible through effective facilitation methods and practical group exercises.
The workshop’s practical and collaborative elements received substantial praise, particularly the strategic planning group-work session that allowed participants to develop concrete action plan for preventing and mitigating VAWiE. Participants valued the interactive discussions on stakeholder roles throughout the electoral cycle and the development of advocacy strategies for legal and policy reform.
Regarding the course content and delivery, participants consistently praised the workshop’s well-structured and informative nature. The facilitators received extensive commendation for their professional competence, subject matter expertise, and ability to present complex concepts in an accessible manner. They were particularly praised for maintaining an engaging learning environment while tactfully managing challenging situations, and for ensuring the content resonated with local contexts. The training methodology, which emphasized interactive learning through group work components, was highlighted for its effectiveness in enhancing comprehension and engagement, allowing participants to fully engage with the material regardless of their English proficiency levels.
The primary recommendation emerging from participant feedback centered on the workshop’s duration. There was a strong consensus that three days were insufficient to fully explore and absorb the comprehensive content. Participants recommended incorporating more time for group discussions, experience sharing, and detailed analysis of implementation strategies. Additional recommendations included conducting Training of Trainers (ToT) sessions, expanding the program to include more stakeholders (particularly religious bodies and organized forces), and ensuring language accessibility for participants who may have limited English proficiency.
The final day evaluations revealed particularly positive feedback regarding the overall workshop conduct. The evaluations reflected strong support for continuing and expanding such capacity-building initiatives, particularly emphasizing the need to include women’s network groups and various institutional stakeholders to facilitate broader policy change and implementation.