Countries: South Sudan
Variables: MARR-LAW-5

"In most countries studied for this Report, there are pluralistic legal systems where statutory laws live side by side with customary and religious laws. Some of them, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, South Sudan, and The Gambia, protect this legal pluralism through their constitutions. However, countries such as Kenya issue the caveat that these other systems are recognised as long as they are consistent with the Constitution. Countries such as Ethiopia have a plural legal system, religious and customary law is significantly constrained by legislative and constitutional provisions" (8). “South Sudan for instance, the Constitution obliges courts to apply customary law subject to the provisions...more

Countries: South Sudan
Variables: LRW-LAW-1

”South Sudan has however adopted legislation to combat violence against women and certain harmful practices. The Penal Code prohibits rape, female genital mutilation, and forced marriage. In addition, the Child’s Act prohibits early marriage, though no specific minimum age for marriage is provided in the Act or the Constitution. The Constitution states that every person of marriageable age has the right to marry according to their respective family laws - which has serious implications on child marriage since certain community customs define the end of childhood as the attainment of puberty. However, in a widely publicised case, a court annulled the marriage of a 16-year-old girl. There is thus potential...more

Countries: South Sudan
Variables: IW-LAW-1

“(ii) Harmful traditional practices: A number of harmful traditional practices persist in custom, including polygamy, forced marriages, child marriage, and wife inheritance” (75).

Countries: South Sudan
Variables: IAW-PRACTICE-1

“There are also countries such as Algeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, South Sudan, Sudan and Tunisia that outrightly provide for unequal inheritance of the girl child or female spouses, or place women below the inheritance line. As a surviving spouse, widows should inherit from the deceased husband in a prioritised manner" (16). “(i) Legal pluralism: Due to the lack of statutory law and the Constitution’s recognition of South Sudan’s plural legal system, family law is governed by the custom of the large number of ethnic groups in South Sudan. This leads to a number of problems: ► There is no minimum age for marriage under customary law. ► Polygamy is...more

Countries: South Sudan
Variables: IAW-LAW-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1, IAD-LAW-1

“There are also countries such as Algeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, South Sudan, Sudan and Tunisia that outrightly provide for unequal inheritance of the girl child or female spouses, or place women below the inheritance line. As a surviving spouse, widows should inherit from the deceased husband in a prioritised manner" (16)

Countries: South Sudan
Variables: CUST-LAW-1

“However, there are still challenges in some countries such as Egypt, South Sudan and Sudan – when the children are of tender age - and Tanzania where custody, driven by gender stereotypes, automatically falls on the woman. This presumption also increases women’s care burden. The paramount interest in deciding custody should be the best interest of the child regardless of the gender of the parents” (15). “(i) Legal pluralism: Due to the lack of statutory law and the Constitution’s recognition of South Sudan’s plural legal system, family law is governed by the custom of the large number of ethnic groups in South Sudan. This leads to a number of problems:...more

Countries: South Sudan
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2

“South Sudan for instance, the Constitution obliges courts to apply customary law subject to the provisions of the Constitution and the law. Due to the lack of statutory law and the Constitution’s recognition of South Sudan’s plural legal system, family law is governed by the custom of the large number of ethnic groups in South Sudan.This leads to significant problems such as: ► No minimum age of marriage under customary law. ► Polygamy is legal for men. ► Divorce is generally easier for men to obtain. ► Women are often deprived of an equitable share in property upon divorce or deprived of inheritance upon the death of their husbands. ►...more

Countries: South Sudan
Variables: ATC-DATA-5

"African Charter 23 October 2013 and Maputo Protocol 17 February 2023" (74).

Countries: South Sudan
Variables: ATC-DATA-1

"30 April 2015" (74).

Countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma/Myanmar, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Rep, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote D'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, D R Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Togo, Trinidad/Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Variables: LRW-LAW-4

Given the following documentation, there is no exoneration in the law allowing an individual accused of rape to have their criminal charges dismissed or overturned by subsequently marrying the victim. However, it should be noted that this only accounts for the legal framework and now what societal pressures may be in practice (ERD - CODER COMMENT).more

Countries: South Sudan
Variables: MURDER-DATA-4

According to calculations based off of data collected from the WHO mortality database, the femicide rate for 15-44 year olds in 2021 was 7.2 per 100,000 female (15-44 age) population.

Countries: South Sudan
Variables: CWC-DATA-3

"As the crisis deepens, our [the researchers' team] research has revealed that sexual and gender-based violence is a major driver of migration to South Sudan. Over half of our participants said it was the main reason they sought sanctuary across the border, with adolescent girls, aged 13 to 17, being far more likely to state that sexual violence was the reason they had to migrate" (para 5). "The outbreak of war in Sudan in 2023 further exacerbated South Sudan's fragilities and vulnerabilities, jeopardised peace efforts and worsened the existing humanitarian crisis. The Sudan conflict triggered a massive influx, this time with over 1.2 million refugees and returnees crossing into South...more

Countries: South Sudan
Variables: GEW-PRACTICE-1

"... Our [the researchers' team] findings show how adolescent girls are disproportionately at the greatest risk. Girls face acute danger that families often can’t easily prevent. Armed groups raid homes and camps, abducting girls or seizing them on roads and at checkpoints. Girls are singled out and subjected to sexual harassment and rape. Parents may try to travel in groups, change routes, or hide their daughters, but when men with guns stop a bus or enter a village at night, their protection options are limited. These risks intensify as poverty deepens and safe transport is scarce. These conditions leave girls visible, isolated, and at risk. One woman told us how...more

Countries: South Sudan
Variables: LRW-DATA-1

"Even before 2023, South Sudan was among the highest-ranking countries for sexual and gender-based violence globally, having the second-highest rates in Sub-Saharan Africa" (para 10).

Countries: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cameroon, Central African Rep, Chad, Chile, D R Congo, Egypt, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Iraq, Kuwait, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Vanuatu
Variables: LO-SCALE-3

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