Influence of Polygamy on Gender-Based Violence Prevalence in South Sudan: A Case Study of Unity State (BENTIU)

Bakhita Steven Guet, Lilian Chesikaw and Magdaline Gesare
Egerton University
Email: bol.1150724@student.egerton.ac.ke

Abstract: Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a pervasive human rights violation and major public health crisis across South Sudan. While polygamous marriage systems are widely practiced throughout Unity State, their specific influence on household power dynamics, resource distribution, and domestic violence prevalence remains insufficiently investigated within post-conflict displacement settings. Grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, this study examined how polygamous marital structures influence GBV forms, identified key socio-economic and structural drivers, and evaluated local formal and informal protection networks in Bentiu Town and Bentiu IDP Camp. A qualitative phenomenological research design was conducted across Rubkona County, Unity State. Primary qualitative data were gathered through 5 Focus Group Discussions ($n=60$) with married women in polygamous unions and 21 Key Informant Interviews ($n=21$) with traditional chiefs, legal officers, police gender desk officers, healthcare providers, church leaders, and protection managers ($N=81$). Qualitative narrative data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using six-stage thematic analysis. Economic abuse characterized by intentional resource withholding, selective provision favouring specific co-wives, and deliberate restriction of female economic autonomy emerged as the most ubiquitous form of violence. Emotional, physical, and sexual violence were concurrently reported. Primary drivers included patriarchal cultural paradigms, high bride wealth demands, intense co-wife competition over scarce household commodities, and women’s absolute economic dependency on male providers. While traditional courts, religious bodies, and humanitarian One-Stop Crisis Centres offer localized support, access to formal legal justice is severely obstructed by family silence, structural resource constraints, and customary arbitration that prioritizesmarital preservation over survivor protection. The study concludes that GBV within polygamous settings is driven by intersecting patriarchal norms, material deprivation, and weak formal enforcement. Recommendations include expanding statutory legal enforcement, funding women’s economic empowerment initiatives, and strengthening mobile health and crisis response services.