Cultural Impact and an Intimate Partner aggression in African Societies: A comparison of Rwanda and South Sudan

Abstract

The study investigated the role of cultural impact on South Sudanese and Rwandan women who nowadays reside in the diaspora in Finland and Belgium. It explores the cultural violence against women before and after the 1994 Rwandan genocide against the Tutsis, and after the independency of South Sudan. This argument is presented through an analysis of existing literature and documents; and through interviews with 341 respondents (166 men and 175 women) belonging to the Rwandan diaspora in Belgium and in Finland; and 420 participants (302 females and 118 males) married, divorced, single mothers in South Sudan. The results show that women and girls in South Sudan continue to be at risk of violence from cultural impact more than Rwandan women.  Poverty, education, and insecurity play a huge role in promoting aggression against South Sudanese women.