Two years have passed since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) ended the second North–South Sudanese civil war, yet no quantitative assessment of safety and security has been undertaken in South Sudan. Understanding of the role played by small arms and light weapons in insecurity is similarly limited. Measuring changes in the security of communities in South Sudan is essential to evaluating the impacts and consequences of the CPA. The Lakes State Homestead Survey on Safety and Security is the largest known household survey ever conducted in South Sudan.

Almost a year has passed since the Juba Declaration formally merged the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and the South Sudan Defense Forces (SSDF), an umbrella of government-aligned armed groups.