All photographs: Marcus Perkins/Saferworld

Raising cattle is central to South Sudanese society. Work starts young, with communities sharing the responsibility of keeping the herd. Boys look after the cattle at the camps while young men, often armed to protect themselves and their herd, move the cattle to graze during the day. Conflict increases during the dry season as cattle keepers are forced to move in search of grassland and water sources, creating a greater risk of confrontation

These teenagers, who call themselves members of the Aweil Jedid gang, asked to have their photograph taken in isolated scrubland outside of Wau town centre. Mixing local cultural traditions with an interest in western style and music, the boys often find themselves ostracised by communities and demonised by local authorities and the police. With limited opportunities for education and employment, young people are at risk from recruitment by militarised groups and turning to crime, but they can also be vulnerable to stigmatisation.

A local police officer listens to the agenda at the monthly police-community relations committee meeting. Another officer says that the public shouldn’t fear the police. ‘We need to build that relationship up so that people will come to [us].’ New deployments of military and paramilitary forces in and around town in April last year deepened public suspicion of the security forces in Wau. Confidence building is urgently needed, but will take time

Women wait for their cases to be heard outside a traditional court. Inside, a man is ordered to pay a small fine to his wife for repeatedly beating her, with the threat of criminal conviction if he continues. The judge at this court estimates that more than 85% of the cases that he sees relate to domestic violence, which is often not seen as a criminal justice issue unless it results in serious bodily injury or death

Girls and boys collect water at dusk in Kuajok, 100km from Wau. With few functioning boreholes in Warrap state, pressure on those that work can be intense. Disagreements escalate quickly and violence is not uncommon. Out of seven boreholes built in the area in 2011, this is the only one that still works. With no current plans for repairing or building new water points, and existing water points falling into disrepair, an essential daily task has become a trigger for conflict

South Sudanese who returned from Khartoum for the referendum and subsequent independence in 2011 have faced a long journey of reintegration to their native homeland – sometimes after decades away. Atoch Atem Adeny, a community security working group member, returned to Kuajok in 2011 to find few employment opportunities existed. She stresses that relationships between returnees like her and the host community have now improved, but work is still scarce, and this can be a source of increased tension. She has started selling her furniture to make ends meet

Chief Pasquale Udo Maktab, 85, is a traditional judge. He has lived in Wau since his birth, during British rule. He presides over the fartit, a court for non-Dinka ethnic groups. ‘There can be no peace without justice. For the future I am worried. As elders, we are trying our best to promote peace, but no one is listening to us any more.’ Across South Sudan customary courts operate alongside statutory courts, often dealing with ‘social’ issues, such as domestic violence. The remit of traditional courts and their relationship to the formal legal system is often very unclear

‘If we had a chance, we would be in school. Communities need to understand that we are forced to become gang members because of our situation. We are now a target. Someone will see us hanging out together, and they call the police.’ Nancy, 19, and Regina, 20, are female gang members. Both have small children. After decades of civil war, young people have very limited livelihood opportunities. Economic development and the education system have been severely disrupted, and much of the investment since independence has been focused on the capital, Juba

Girls who milk the cattle at Lakatoc Camp know every animal in the vast herd by sight. In Tonj North, as in many other pastoralist communities across South Sudan, cattle are the primary indicator of wealth, currency and status, so communities face the threat of the theft of their cattle by other camps. As communities retaliate, cattle raiding can quickly escalate and become a cyclical driver of conflict. The proliferation of small arms and light weapons in South Sudan means raids can easily become deadly

Street children do their weekly washing at a local charity. Every night, travelling in groups for safety, they carry their belongings in sacks and walk to the local football stadium to sleep. They move on before dawn to avoid harassment from the authorities. While girls have an inherent value to their family networks because of the ‘bride price’ they command, boys who are orphaned, or whose parents are unable to care for them, more frequently end up living on the streets. An absence of facilities to support the boys leaves them vulnerable to abuse and criminality