South Sudan: Sudanese Reject Domestic Violence but See It As a Private Matter to Be Handled Within the Family

13 February 2025
Afrobarometer (Accra)
By Daniel Iberi and Eric Otu Beecham

Majority say women are likely to be criticised or harassed if they report gender-based violence to the authorities.

Key findings

  • Gender-based violence ranks second on the list of the most important women's-rights issues that Sudanese think their government and society must address.
  • More than six in 10 citizens (63%) say violence against women and girls is "not very common" or "not at all common" in their community, but 37% disagree with that assessment.
  • Most Sudanese (74%) say it is "never" justified for a man to use physical force to discipline his wife.
  • But more than half (56%) believe it is "very likely" (23%) or "somewhat likely" (33%) that a woman will be criticised, harassed, or shamed by others in the community if she reports GBV to the authorities. o More than six in 10 citizens (62%) think the police are likely to take cases of GBV seriously.
  • But almost eight in 10 (78%) see domestic violence as a private matter to be resolved within the family rather than a criminal matter that should involve law enforcement.

As of October 2024, 6.9 million Sudanese were considered at heightened risk of gender based violence (GBV), more than twice the number (3.1 million) estimated before the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces began in April 2023 (UNFPA, 2024; UN Women, 2024). The most common types of reported GBV cases include rape as a war tactic, intimate partner violence, forced marriage, and forced prostitution (UNFPA, 2024). However, obtaining accurate statistics on GBV in Sudan is nearly impossible because of the country's poor infrastructure and health-care system and the protracted conflict, which has restricted communication and displaced millions (Widaatalla, 2024; World Health Organization, 2023).

In collaboration with international partners, the Sudanese government has taken steps to address the scourge of GBV in the country. In March 2020, it signed a Framework of Cooperation on the Prevention and Response to Sexual Violence in Conflict (United Nations, 2020; Stop Rape Now, 2024). The country's National Action Plan for the Implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace & Security 2020-2022 aims to protect women and girls against all forms of GBV (Sudan Ministry of Labour and Social Development, 2020). Domestic laws directly and indirectly address GBV, such as the Criminal Act of 1991 (Human Rights Watch, 2009).

In April 2021, after years of pressure from rights activists. the government ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (Mohiedeen, 2021). However, while Sudan has signed the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (also known as the Maputo Protocol), it has yet to ratify it (African Union, 2022) as a step toward ensuring key legal safeguards, access to justice, GBV-related support services, and international accountability.

This dispatch reports on a special survey module included in the Afrobarometer Round 9 (2021/2023) survey to explore Africans' perceptions of gender-based violence.

In Sudan, GBV ranks as the second-most-important women's-rights issue that citizens say their government and society must address. Even though a majority say it is "never justified" for a man to use physical force to discipline his wife, most see domestic violence as a private matter that should be resolved within the family. And while most Sudanese think the police take GBV cases seriously, many also consider it likely that a woman reporting an incident of GBV will be criticised, harassed, or shamed by other members of the community.

Daniel Iberi Communications coordinator for East Africa

Eric Otu Beecham Eric Otu Beecham is a monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) officer at Afrobarometer.

Read the original article on Afrobarometer.

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