Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 11 October 2018 to Question 176532 on South Sudan: sexual offences, what steps her Department is taking to encourage aid workers in South Sudan to report sexual violence.

The Department for International Development is working to improve safeguarding standards across the aid sector. We have recently written to all of our partners to remind them of their responsibility to provide their own mechanisms for reporting and investigating suspicions and/or allegations of sexual violence. Wherever these relate to a DFID programme we also expect that our partners report those to us in a timely manner. DFID’s specialist team will then provide oversight of the investigatory response to ensure it meets our standards, providing dedicated support as required.

We urge all survivors of sexual violence in South Sudan, including aid workers, to report the harm committed against them.