A life Can Be Replaced by Another life only!

Girl Child Compensation in South Sudan From Social Norms Perspectives

• Overview• Facts and Factors• Diagnosing Girl Child Compensation • What exist and what has been done• What to change and How- using Social Norms Perspectives

-Shanti Risal KaphleChild Protection Specialist, UNICEF

UPENN, 12 July 2013

South Sudan: Brief Profile

• Newest country in the world- 2 years old now!

• Literacy of adults estimated to be at 27%

• (51%) of the population is below the age of eighteen

• 83% of the population is rural

Eastern Equatoria: Brief Over view

• Total Population of the State is 0.91 million; • Half (52%) of the population is below the age of eighteen; • 91% of the population is rural; 19% of the adult population is literate;• 50% of the population live below the poverty Line ; • 86% of households depend on farming or animal husbandry as their primary source of

livelihood

Girl Child Compensation Some Facts & Factors: Story of Grace

• Grace a 11 years old who was given as compensation when her uncle killed a member of another tribe in a cattle raid,

• The victim’s family demanded compensation—the traditional solution of ‘blood money’.

• Grace was given to the victim’s wife who beat her near to death.

• She ran away and walked 6 kilometers to town for medical treatment and reported the abuse.

• Now she is under foster care & goes to school (supported by UNICEF) under protection of the Ministry

• She still fears that the victim’s family will discover her and take her back.

There are many girls like Grace- it is practiced in all areas of

the State

Girl Child Compensation Some Facts & FactorsFacts: • The number of girls victimized by this custom is not known. However, every year at

least 10 cases are reported • In 2012, the Customary Courts in three different Payams ( like district) resolved

nine cases out of 14 reported with support of Community based CP Units ( UNICEF supported)

• No Empirical studies or surveys done to understand real magnitude of the practice, though practiced in all areas of the State.

Factors Perpetuating the Practice:• Systemic deficiency :

Conflict between customary and formal system Child Act 2008 in place but limited implementation to date, Most of Customary Chiefs are unaware of the formal law

• Social deficiency: cultural practice- believed by people social belief and expectations- girls are property, should obey the decision, give birth, lost life must be

replaced

Economic factors: dowry, labor, poverty

Implications on girls• Denied Child Rights - no opportunity to education and development, treated as

slave and are sex object

• Forced to pay for the “sins” of her family: the real victim of this ancient custom is not the aggrieved family, but the girl - bears the stigma of shame for the rest of her life and has no status,

• Separation from family: leave their families at an early age to live with the new family (victims’) amongst strangers and in new surroundings- psychosocial stress.

• Suffers abuse, violence and exploitations: the psychological shock is compounded by multiple forms of GBV including child/ forced marriage

• Loaded with work and the new responsibility: expected to give birth and replenish the lost life and to contribute to her family and to the new family - dowry

Diagnosing from Social Norms Perspectives

Social Norm supporting the practice

• Most families see that other families in their communities also give their girl as compensation (empirical expectation)

• Girls ought to comply with the decision of elders ( empirical expectation)

• They believe that other families think that they ought to give their girl as compensation and if they deviate they will be punished (Normative expectation)

• Most people see that disrespect to elder’s decision ( by girl or family) are punished/sanctioned (sanction-norm- to comply with the decision)

Supporting Belief • Most people believe that since her family

member ( father, brother, or uncle) has killed some one, she should contribute to pay the price ( personal and normative belief)

• Most people think that girl should give birth and replenish the lost life ( personal & normative belief)

• Girl is paying the price for guilt of someone from her family so any violence against her is normal ( factual belief)

• Many people believe that girl as compensation is given to defuse the tension and to keep the peace in the community

(personal & normative belief)• Girls and women should not interfere in

decision making (personal normative belief)

Legal, Moral and Social Norms Tension or Harmony?

Legal Norm

• The Interim Constitution guarantees rights of children

• The Child Act, 08 prohibits use of harmful practices but no explicit provison banning such practice

• No particular sanction - inferred sanction of maximum 7 years imprisonment for violation of rights

• Limited knowledge of the law

• Penal Code, Compensation as “Blood Money” is permitted.

• Draft State Constituion has a provision banning the practice- not approved yet.

• Tension causes disrespect , are disobeyed as they are not close to people’s expectations-

Moral Norms

• Deviant behavior should be punished

• Decision of the elders should be obeyed and respected- girls, family

• Victim's grief should be repaired/ replenished by compensation

• Girls and women should not interfere in decison

• Girls should give birth and replenish the lost life

Social Norms

• Social norm is for peace, economic gain, and justice in the community

• It is law of the community – should be respected

• Girl should contribute to community peace & harmony.

• Compensation is for controlling deviant behaviors

• Girls are means of reproduction of many children who can earn for the family , will bring a handsome dowry

• A lost life can be only replaced by another life

• Perpetrator must pay for the killed life by giving a girl

Social Norms Vs Legal Norms weakens it coz it is not beneficial collectively- G. Mackie

What Exists- what has been done so far

• Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice Study carried out in 2008- no specific behavior analysis (KAP- limited information)

• Child Act 2008 - limited implementation, most of Customary Chiefs are unaware of the formal law (lack of knowledge)

• Communication Strategy to Reduce Child Marriages and Enhancing Protection of Girls developed in 2011 - no specific action

• Strategies are focused on advocacy & institutional support for a protective environment & strengthening of community based child protection mechanism- no focus to change social norms.

• Capacity development efforts for child sensitive justice (including training of customary courts) - somehow helping to bring the formal norms close to the community – not adequate though.

What Exists- what has been done so far…

• Factors perpetuating the harmful norms not addressed enough in tandem with protection of children and respect to rights of children(promotion of higher value)

• Correlation between girl child compensation and gender based violence is not well analyzed (culture of silence)

• Violation of girl’s rights, abuse and exploitation is accepted (normative and empirical expectation) as she is paying the price for her family member’s guilt.

• Practice implicitly condones/ permits gender based violence and is not talked and discussed (silence is keeping the schema as what good girls should do)

• Conflict of customary norm and legal norm has not been addressed yet

What to Change and How?!

1. Finding alternatives for compensation: Emphasize on shifting social norms related to peace and harmony and sexual violence through

promoting social script that “using girls as object for keeping peace is not an acceptable behavior”.

Alternative means of conflict resolution to be encouraged with reward and sanction attached to it that are found by the community.

Support customary courts to negotiate alternative solution for compensation Encourage conflicting parties to use the statutory law and courts on the basis of conflict of

jurisdiction.

2. Promote positive and higher values for protection of rights of children to change the schema into that:

“Families should protect their children from violence, abuse and exploitation and respect their rights; it is the duty of families, community, chiefs, and elders”.

“Giving away girls for peace and to replace the lost life is not a longer term solution, community should value the life of the girls as well by finding alternative solutions”

What to Change and How…

3. Setting the Core and relevant Network: a. Identify the core group and relevant reference groups & initiate dialogue with, train,

mentor for organized diffusion of information and change. b. Customary Court Chief as part of the core group.c. Use of the existing community based child protection mechanism ( 30 Units in 5

Counties and 20 Payams and 40 Bomas)d. Work with other relevant reference groups and networks e. Awareness raising of key actors ( using vignette, Media, drama, market rallies, schools

etc)

4. Harmonization of formal and customary norms (Bogota experience) – making the statutory legal system more accessible, closer, and friendly to communities

especially to the rural population. – use of social norms perspective to strengthen formal and informal systems while

simultaneously engaging the community in reflective & deliberate discussions around the practice ( rights of children, legal process)

– integration into the broader strategy and programmatic intervention on gender based violence, rule of law, justice for children and advocacy for protection, respect, and fulfillment of rights of children ( for amplification); include in Pilot Research on GBV for Advancing Social Norms

5. Coordination Of Action for Changing Social Norm

• Customary Court Chief: strengthen, mentor with negotiation and mediation skill to find alternatives for compensation that is fair, justifiable, acceptable to both parties ;

• educate them on the Child Act 08, impacts of harmful traditional practice ; and the child sensitive justice using Strategy for JFC

• Community Groups- Relevant Reference Groups, use existing CBCP units for identification and strengthening of Reference groups

Create community core group

• Value deliberation : promoting rights of children and protection of girls:• Awareness raising and monitoring

Engage Community in dialogue through relevant

Network

• Public declaration of alternative mode of compensation with sanctions for deviant which is in line with formal norms:

• Publicize positives and amplify • Let people know the change which is more amicable and respects the rights of children

Adopting new Social Norm

• Empowerment- for information, skills and amplify positives• Celebrate and expand, • Use of media as interactive forum for discussion

Organized diffusion through community and social

Network

• Harmonization with legal norms: customary chief use more legal norms based on the Child Act , justice for children and child rights;

• Community and families value and respect rights of children (boys and girls) and stop giving girls as compensation.

• Change in expectations- empirical and normative

Sustain Changed Norm

Publicity, participation and Trust: hope for Change!!Thank you for your attention

Shanti Risal Kaphle, UPenn, 12 July 2013