Campaigners in Swaziland / eSwatini want the increase in
murders of women and children to be declared a national emergency.
The number of victims is increasing and ‘has
reached alarming proportions’, they say.
People from across all sectors of civil society marched
through Manzini, the main commercial city of Swaziland / eSwatini, to draw
attention to killing of women and children in the kingdom.
It was organised by Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA) and included
participants from the Council of Swaziland Churches (CSC), Swaziland Action
Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA), World Vision, Kwakha Indvodza (KI), Swaziland
National Association of Teachers (SNAT), Trade Union Congress of Swaziland
(TUCOSWA), Swaziland Union of Students (SNUS), Swaziland Rural Women’s Assembly
(SRWA), SOS Children’s Village and Coalition of Informal Economy Associations
of Swaziland (CIEAS).
In a statement WLSA
said, ‘This march was triggered by the fact that over the past few months,
we have been reading reports of women and children being murdered by their
husbands/partners and fathers, respectively. With the Sexual Offences and
Domestic Violence (SODV) Act having been passed into law, the question on many
people’s minds is why the violence and killings are continuing despite the
harsh sentences that the Act prescribes.
‘It would appear that the violence is increasing rather than decreasing
and this trend is worrying to say the least. Many are placing the blame of the
“increase” on the enactment of the SODV Act, though they are unable to explain
why they arrive at this supposition.’
It added, ‘The prevalence of violence has reached alarming proportions
and the country needs to declare it an emergency. Perhaps there is a need to
address it in the same manner as the HIV pandemic was addressed, and design
programmes specifically for this. Resources should be availed to drive the
programmes for their effectiveness.’
WLSA added, ‘There is a very alarming component to the latest murders
that people seem not to notice. These killings are not carried out in impulse
or in the heat of the moment; what could be called crimes of passion. The
latest killings have been premeditated by the perpetrator; this is evident from
the choice of weapon that the perpetrator uses. The use of guns, poison and
even drowning shows that there was some planning that took place before the
crime was committed. So we then come back to the question of why the
perpetrator opted for murder than another solution.
‘This question is particularly relevant when taking into account that
some of these murders are committed in the presence of other people, with no
attempt to hide the evidence or to evade prosecution.’
The call for action echoes one made by the United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA) in September 2018. It said it would support the kingdom’s
government and make gender-based violence (GBV) a national crisis. UNFPA’s
Officer In Charge Margaret Thwala-Tembe told a workshop that marginalised and
vulnerable groups such as persons living with disabilities and LGBTI should be
included.
In December 2018 Deputy
Prime Minister Themba Masuku said, ‘Government recognises the need to eradicate
violence especially gender-based Violence at all levels for better quality of
life for the country. GBV calls for political commitment from the policy
makers, executive and the judiciary.’
Photograph of the march sourced from Facebook
See also
Rise
in gender-based violence
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