A joint campaign is underway by humanitarians and United Nations personnel in Malakal marking 16 days of activism to eliminate violence against women and the importance of combating HIV/AIDs in South Sudan.

The joint campaign is the culmination of a series of “One UN” activities including almost 150 United Nations and non-governmental staff braving 36-degree heat and dust to run a 7.5 kilometer race around the UN Mission base in Malakal.

The agencies have also held a panel discussion on  Days of Activism activities on a high, with a panel discussion on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) and Sexual Harassment At the Workplace termed “How Far is Too Far?” The panel discussion, organized by the UN Mission’s Malakal Gender and Public Information units, was carried out under the auspice of “One UN” encompassing UNMISS staff, all humanitarian agencies, funds and programs as well as local and international non-governmental organizations based in Malakal, represented in both the panel and the audience.

The Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) Mr. David Shearer has been keen to end cases of SEA at UNMISS and reiterated the same during his speech at the UKENG medal parade recently. “

The engaging discussions around case scenarios on what constitutes SEA and Sexual Harassment were moderated by Head of Field Office Hazel De Wet, who was ably supported in the panel by the commander of the UK Engineering Contingent (UKENG) Lt Col Katie Hislop, Field Administrative Officer Shadrack Obunga, Danish Refugee Council camp manager Janet Omogi, Christiana Gbondo the gender-based violence manager for the International Medical Corps, Sector North Air Operations Officer Shaurya Singh and UN Police representative Vitalii Kulish.