One in three girls in Swaziland (eSwatini) will
experience some form of sexual violence before they are 18 years old, a
report just out says.
Almost half of Swazi women (48.2 percent) will
experience some form of sexual violence over their lifetime. Intimate partners,
such as husbands and boyfriends, are most likely to be the perpetrators of
sexual violence against women, making a woman’s home often a very dangerous
place.
The report produced
jointly by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and
Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) was released on
Friday (2 October 2020)
The statistics were supplied by SWAGAA.
The report was part of a
guide to journalists and other media workers in Swaziland on
how to report gender-based violence.
The report stated, ‘In terms of rates of violence
against children and child sexual abuse in eSwatini, the statistics are
staggering. Nearly nine out of 10 children experience some form of physical or
psychological abuse violence in the kingdom.
‘Gender-based violence (GBV) and particularly violence
that affects women and girls, is a widespread and raging problem.’
The report said it was difficult to get accurate
information in Swaziland because police statistics were unreliable and GBV
crimes were grossly underreported.
It added, the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW ) committee which evaluated
Swaziland expressed concerned with the ‘low level of reporting of violence against
women, owing to a culture of silence and impunity, and at the lack of data on
the number of reported cases involving violence against women that have been
investigated and prosecuted and on the nature of sanctions imposed on
perpetrators.’
See also
Swaziland sees increase in sexual violence against children as schools closed by coronavirus
https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/09/swaziland-sees-increase-in-sexual.html
Doubts over survey result that suggests attitudes on wife-beating improving in Swaziland
https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/10/doubts-over-survey-result-that-suggests.html
Customary law lets husbands rape wives
https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/08/custom-law-lets-husbands-rape-wives.html
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