Swaziland must urgently enact
the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Bill, the International Commission of
Jurists (ICJ) said in a report
released on Thursday (24 May 2018).
The Bill which has been
around in one form or another for at least 10 years has stalled at the
Swaziland Senate.
The ICJ said there were
many discriminatory practices in the kingdom based on customary laws and
traditional beliefs undermining equality between men and women. It said this
inequality promoted ‘patriarchy, which in turn perpetually promotes inequality
resulting in prevalent violence’.
It added, ‘It has been
reported that violence against female children is highly prevalent in
Swaziland. It has been stated that, approximately one in three women experience
some form sexual violence as a child; nearly one in four women experience
physical violence as a child; and approximately three in ten women experience
emotional abuse as a child.
‘Boyfriends and husbands
are the most frequent perpetrators of sexual violence, and male relatives the
most frequent perpetrators of physical violence, while female relatives are the
most frequent perpetrators of emotional abuse.’
It added, one in three
women experience some form of sexual violence by the time they reach the age of
18 years, while almost one in two (48 per cent) women experience some form of
sexual violence in their lifetime.
Almost one in five (18.8
per cent) of women have been coerced into having sexual relations.
‘It has also been reported
that at least 49.2 per cent of sex workers experience sexual violence and 33.5
per cent of these are reported to have been raped since the age of 18,’ the
report added.
At present there are is no specific
provision in the Swaziland Constitution that addresses SGBV, the ICJ said. ‘The
lack of specific legislative provisions aimed at combating SGBV has made it
difficult for authorities to combat and eradicate it,’ it added.
The SODV Act, ‘was first
drafted over ten years ago, but it has still not been passed into law,
specifically because there is a perception that four of its provisions will
infringe on Swazi law and custom. It has been reported that: “It has been
argued that some clauses in the bill would hinder Swazi cultural practices”.
‘The preservation of
culture is the crutch upon which traditionalists are relying on to ensure that
the Bill is not passed.
‘The provisions in question
pertain to:
‘• Abduction – clause 42
seeks to protect children (anyone under the age of 18) from child marriages,
sexual acts, harmful rituals or sacrifices and any other unlawful purpose. In
terms of Swazi law and custom, a girl becomes of marriageable age at puberty,
regardless of the child’s age when reaching this stage.
‘• Incest – clause 4 of the
Bill clearly specifies the classes of relatives that may not be involved in
sexual relations. There is a concern among traditionalists that the classes as
between uncle, aunt, nephew or niece are too broad within the Swazi context,
particularly because of the extensiveness of the recognised extended family
structure.
‘• Flashing – the nature of
Swazi traditional attire is such that there is some display of flesh. For
example, during the reed dance, young maidens and girls go around bare-chested
with their breasts in full display and wearing short beaded skirts that show
off their buttocks, potentially in violation of clause 47 of the Bill. The
Constitution, however, protects the right to privacy as well as dignity.
‘• Unlawful Stalking –
under Swazi culture, a woman may be proposed to relentlessly no matter how many
times she may refuse the proposals. Traditionalists perceive this type of
courting as likely prohibited under clause 10 of the proposed law.’
The ICJ said Swaziland had
international human rights obligations and commitments on SGBV. The kingdom
which is ruled by King Mswati III as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute
monarch, has signed up to but not implemented the UN Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the African
Charter on Human and People’s Rights, and the Protocol to that Charter on the
Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol).
The ICJ reported that surveys
in Swaziland on attitudes towards domestic violence demonstrated strong support
for traditional gender roles, high levels of rape-supportive attitudes and
tolerant attitudes for violence.
‘For example, only 51 per
cent of men have been surveyed as believing that a woman may refuse to have
sexual intercourse with her husband, while 88 per cent believe a woman should
obey her husband and 45 per cent believe a husband has a right to punish his
wife if she does something he deems is wrong.’
See also
SEX OFFENCES BILL STILL NOT PASSED
DAD
RAPES DAUGHTER (16) TO TEST HER VIRGINITY
SEX
BILL HIGHLIGHTS CULTURE ISSUES
WIVES
SAY HUSBANDS CAN RAPE THEM
https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/wives-say-husbands-can-rape-them.html
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