A mother’s choice: risk rape to feed family, or starve

Juba, South Sudan — On a dirt path dotted with bright-red bougainvillea, women in ankle-length dresses gather in groups of five or more before venturing into the forest.

Right outside the largest refugee camp in Juba, South Sudan’s capital, sickles readied in their hands to cut firewood, the women say banding together offers a tiny sense of security, a little protection and the reassurance that if something happens to them inside the forest one of them might escape to tell someone.

In four or five hours, they’ll be back at the camp, one of them says.