A/HRC/40/69 VI. Attacks on civilians 36. Attacks on civilians, mainly by SPLA, have continued in the country, despite the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement of December 2017, the Khartoum Declaration of June 2018, the permanent ceasefire and the Revitalized Agreement of September 2018. 37. As peace negotiations gained momentum, Government forces sought to gain control of opposition-held areas, particularly in Unity and Western Bahr el-Ghazal states. During these operations, Government forces adopted a hostile position toward the civilian population as if they were members or supporters of the opposition forces. Government forces directed attacks against the civilian population even though they took no active part in the hostilities, and their campaigns involved killing fleeing civilians, detaining and beating men, raping and gang-raping women, burning down peoples’ homes and looting their possessions. The brutality of these attacks has resulted in massive displacement and terrible humanitarian conditions for civilians. VII. Sexual and gender-based violence 38. Sexual and gender-based violence remain a central characteristic of the conflict, used as a tactic of warfare by all parties to sow terror. The Commission documented incidents of rape and gang rape, committed in the presence of the victims’ children, as well as sexual mutilation; forced marriage; and abduction perpetrated against women, including older women, girls and boys. 39. During the offensive in southern Unity state between April and June 2018, there was sexual violence on a massive scale as militias were told they could take women as wives in payment for their services during attacks. 40. The surge of sexual assaults against women and girls in the greater Bentiu area and in close proximity to the Bentiu protection of civilians’ site following the signature of the Revitalized Agreement involved a number of unidentified perpetrators. The Commission also investigated instances of sexual violence against men and boys, which remains significantly underreported due to social stigma. 41. Attacks have a gendered aspect, as young men are often specifically targeted, killed, beaten and detained under suspicion of being actual or potential members of armed groups, while women and girls are raped, beaten and sometimes also killed, and vulnerable people, especially older men, have been killed and burned in their tukuls (thatched huts). 42. South Sudan remains a deeply patriarchal society in which custom and tradition entrench the subservience of women and girls to men. The prevailing inequalities, discrimination and unequal power relations between men and women, lack of access to resources and inability to access quality education result in women and girls being susceptible to sexual and gender-based violence. This situation is exacerbated by the protracted conflict, which has an impact on gender norms and the roles of women and men. 43. Impunity for sexual violence in South Sudan is a result of a lack of political will to hold perpetrators accountable and the absence of appropriate institutions to build accountability. The creation of a specialized sexual and gender-based violence court in Juba is therefore to be welcomed, as are the successful convictions in the Terrain Hotel case. The largely dysfunctional statutory court system remains an impediment to accountability for sexual and gender-based violence, leaving customary courts as the only forum to seek justice. Customary courts are not mandated to hear serious criminal cases and are not suited to providing justice to women and victims of sexual violence given gender biases and the lack of procedural safeguards. 44. Many survivors continue to suffer from the physical and psychological impact of violence, and reported feelings of depression, hopelessness and anxiety and suicidal thoughts and have difficulty focusing, sleeping and performing routine tasks. The Commission reiterates its concern about the inadequate medical and psychosocial support available to survivors. 6