Viola Luka, Advocate for Women and Equity Organization. (Photo: Madrama James/Eye Radio)

An advocate in Juba is encouraging the South Sudanese public to urgently report cases of early marriage in their areas and not wait until the survivor is stranded in pregnancy.

Viola Luka, Legal Aid Officer for Women and Equate Organization (WEO), said the court does not get informed on cases of early marriages as soon as they happen, to enable timely intervention.

Viola also stated that currently, there are rarely people reporting cases of early marriage in their communities.

She clarified that the South Sudan Child Act 2011 gives individuals the right to report cases of early marriage in their localities.

“Up to now, there are no people reporting cases of early marriage in their areas, even though the Child Act gives people the right to report such occurents,” Viola told Eye Radio’s Under the Tree program on Friday.

According to her, cases of child marriage amount to rape, under the Child Act, because the survivor is the minor has not reached the age of consent.

“Cases of early marriage that comes to the court do not come as an early marriage case; it comes according to the penal code 247 as a rape case because the girl is still underage.”

“Maybe a person had a relationship with a girl who is still underage, and a pregnancy happens. A rape case will be opened because the girl is underage, and the accused is older than the girl.”

“The South Sudan Penal Code provides a maximum jail sentence of 14 years to perpetrators of rape, and about 10 years for defilement.”

UN children agency UNICEF says child marriage is still a common practice in South Sudan, with most recent figures indicate that 52% of girls are married before they turn 18.

The data also shows that some girls are being married off as young as 12 years old in the country.

The agency said the phenomenon is due to the cultural practices which dictate that when a child menstruates or gets her period, she is considered eligible to marry.

Advocate Viola encourages South Sudanese to stop early and child marriage, adding that the practices have negative impact in the society.

“My message goes to our community to stop child and early marriage. The effects might not show now but it might appear after 10 to 15 years.”

“It increases poverty in the community because children are married early and they do not finish school, so it gives a negative impact, legally it is wrong so let us stop it.”