NUMBER OF REPORTED ABUSE CASES RISES

The number of abuse cases reported in Swaziland is on the increase.

The Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) said reported cases in September 2017 were 11.4 percent up on the previous month.

In a monthly report it said the total number of cases reported to it was 127 compared to 114 in August. People were either sexually, physically, financially or emotionally abused, or suffered neglect.

The Manzini region had the highest number of abuse cases with 68; Hhohho had 48; Lubombo, five; and Shiselweni, four.

According to the report, emotional/verbal abuse continues to record the highest number of cases; followed by neglect, physical, sexual and financial. 

There were 81 female and 46 male clients and 82 male perpetrators and 43 female perpetrators, the report stated. 

The report added parents were the main perpetrators of violence and the home was where most reported cases of abuse took place.

In August 2017, a UNICEF report revealed nearly nine out of ten children in Swaziland suffered violent discipline in the home, nearly four in ten suffered sexual violence and one in three were bullied. UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) reported that much of this was kept secret within the family.

UNICEF said according to national data, violent discipline in the home, which includes physical punishment and psychological aggression, affected more than 88 percent of all children in Swaziland. The study findings also revealed that sexual violence and bullying affected 38 per cent and 32 percent of children in Swaziland, respectively.

See also

CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT SWAZI CHILDREN

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/campaign-to-protect-swazi-children.html

 

9 IN 10 KIDS SUFFER VIOLENCE AT HOME

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/9-in-10-kids-suffer-violence-at-home.html

CHILD VICTIMS IN HALF OF ABUSE CASES

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/child-victims-in-half-of-abuse-cases.html

CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT SWAZI CHILDREN

World Vision Swaziland is preparing to launch a national campaign called ‘It takes a world to end violence against children’ before the end of 2017. 

The Christian organisation’s Advocacy and Justice for Children Manager Sakhile Malaza told local media, ‘We’ll be working with multiple stakeholders, the Government, traditional leaders, celebrities and other influencers to play a role to end violence.’

Malaza said not a week passed by without headlines in Swaziland of missing children, suicides or abuse cases.

The Swazi Observer reported on Thursday (24 August 2017) that Malaza said, ‘World Vision continues to raise awareness to all stakeholders that include parents, traditional leaders, religious leaders, law enforcers and the children themselves to be safe and ensure that their whereabouts are known at all times.’

Earlier this month, a UNICEF report revealed nearly nine out of ten children in Swaziland suffered violent discipline in the home, nearly four in ten suffered sexual violence and one in three were bullied. UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) reported that much of this was kept secret within the family.

UNICEF said according to national data, violent discipline in the home, which includes physical punishment and psychological aggression, affected more than 88 percent of all children in Swaziland. The study findings also revealed that sexual violence and bullying affected 38 per cent and 32 percent of children in Swaziland, respectively.

In March 2017, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in Swaziland said nearly a half of all abuse cases reported involved children, And, most abusers were parents or someone well-known to the victim.

A total of 357 cases were reported in the financial year 2016 / 2017.

A report tabled at the Swazi Senate revealed 71 percent of the victims were females.

The most common abuse with 90 cases was described as ‘emotional / verbal’. There were also 76 cases of physical abuse and 69 of neglect.

A total of 47 percent of the cases involved children aged up to 11.

The abuse of children in Swaziland is not new. Swazi culture condones sex abuse of children, especially young girls. Child rapists often blame women for their action.

The State of the Swaziland Population report revealed that women who ‘sexually starve’ their husbands were blamed for the growing sexual abuse of children.

Men who were interviewed during the making of the report said they ‘salivate’ over children wearing skimpy clothes because their wives refused them sexual intercourse.

‘According to the Swaziland Action Group against Abuse (SWAGAA), one in three girls and women between ages 13 and 24 had been a victim of sexual violence. Although rape is legally defined as a crime, many men regarded it as a minor offense. 

‘The number of reported cases was likely far lower than the actual number of cases, as many cases were dealt with at the family level. A sense of shame and helplessness often inhibited women from reporting such crimes, particularly when incest was involved. 

See also

9 IN 10 KIDS SUFFER VIOLENCE AT HOME

https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/9-in-10-kids-suffer-violence-at-home.html

SWAZI CHILD RAPE IS NOT UNUSUAL

http://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/swazi-child-rape-is-not-unusual.html

 

‘INVESTIGATE PRINCE FOR CHILD SEX’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/investigate-prince-for-child-sex.html

CHILD VICTIMS IN HALF OF ABUSE CASES

Nearly a half of all abuse cases reported to the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office in Swaziland involved children, And, most abusers were parents or someone well-known to the victim.

A total of 357 cases were reported in the financial year 2016 / 2017.

A report tabled at the Swazi Senate revealed 71 percent of the victims were females.

The most common abuse with 90 cases was described as ‘emotional / verbal’. There were also 76 cases of physical abuse and 69 of neglect.

A total of 47 percent of the cases involved children aged up to 11.

The Swazi Observer newspaper said that the report, ‘showed that children were at a greater risk of being violated as the same individuals who had an obligation to protect were the ones who were in most cases the perpetrators. 

‘The most commonly reported survivor/perpetrator relationship was that of parent (mother/father).’

The abuse of children in Swaziland is not new. Swazi culture condones sex abuse of children, especially young girls. Child rapists often blame women for their action.

The State of the Swaziland Population report revealed that women who ‘sexually starve’ their husbands were blamed for the growing sexual abuse of children.

Men who were interviewed during the making of the report said they ‘salivate’ over children wearing skimpy clothes because their wives refused them sexual intercourse.

In Swaziland rape is against the law but Swazi Law and Custom allows a husband to rape his wife. This is contained in the 317-page document The Indigenous Law and Custom of the Kingdom of Swaziland (2013). 

The United States Department of State report on human rights in Swaziland looking at 2016 stated, ‘The law criminalizes rape, but no law specifically addresses spousal rape. Rape was common, and the government rarely enforced the law effectively. 

‘According to the Swaziland Action Group against Abuse (SWAGAA), one in three girls and women between ages 13 and 24 had been a victim of sexual violence. Although rape is legally defined as a crime, many men regarded it as a minor offense. 

‘The number of reported cases was likely far lower than the actual number of cases, as many cases were dealt with at the family level. A sense of shame and helplessness often inhibited women from reporting such crimes, particularly when incest was involved. 

‘The maximum sentence for conviction of rape is 15 years in prison, but the acquittal rate for rape was high, and sentences were generally lenient. Prosecutors reported difficulty obtaining the evidence required to try rape and domestic violence cases because witnesses feared testifying against accused rapists. There were few social workers or other intermediaries to work with victims and witnesses in order to obtain evidence.’

In 2015, a report from A US organisation ABCNewspoint stated that Swaziland had the fourth highest rate of rape in the world. It said there were 77.5 registered cases of rape among 100,000 people.

See also

CUSTOM LAW LETS HUSBANDS RAPE WIVES

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2016/08/custom-law-lets-husbands-rape-wives.html

 

SWAZI CHILD RAPE IS NOT UNUSUAL

http://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/swazi-child-rape-is-not-unusual.html

 

‘INVESTIGATE PRINCE FOR CHILD SEX’

http://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/investigate-prince-for-child-sex.html

ABUSE OF CHILDREN UNRELENTING

A total of 271 Swazi school pupils were sexually abused in the month of September (2010), according to official figures released last week.

The Swaziland Ministry of Education and Training said this was the number that contacted a ‘toll free’ phone number it set up to encourage pupils to report abuse.

The number of abuse cases rose from 26 in August.

The Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper, reports today (3 November 2010) that the total number of sexual abuse cases recorded by the ministry from January until September was 360.

The ministry said there was a direct link between poverty and sexual abuse.

The report also covered emotional abuse and physical abuse, mostly, the Times reports, pupils complained about the high number of caning strokes they got from teachers but there were also complaints about the manner they were punished by their parents, who might use fists and other unreasonable forms of punishment.

TEACHER WHIPS SWAZI GIRL TO DEATH

Last week I wrote about the abused lives children in Swaziland lead.

I commented that hardly a week goes by without news about another atrocity committed against children.

How right I was. Today (7 March 2009) comes news that a nine-year-old primary school child was whipped so badly by her teacher she died of her injuries.

The Swazi News reports the child from the Mafucula area in the Lubombo region was whipped with a sjambok.

In Swaziland, teachers are not allowed to inflict corporal punishment on children, only school principals are allowed to and they are forbidden to use whips.

Police are investigating.

To see the full report click here.

ABUSED LIFE OF THE SWAZI CHILD

Who would want to be a child in Swaziland?

Hardly a week goes by without some news of another atrocity committed against children. The latest reveals that teachers are having sex with their pupils. Last year 100 teachers were investigated on charges of having sex with pupils. That hundred only represents the cases that were reported and dealt with, there is every reason to suspect that many more children are being abused than this number suggests.

According to Muziwethu Mhlanga, Secretary General Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), one of the reasons teachers get away with child abuse is that parents, especially in rural areas, ‘sold’ their daughters in return for groceries from male teachers.

He told African Eye, ‘We have incidents where parents send their daughters to go and clean for a male teacher or tell him to bring his washing so that their daughter can wash for him, or even go to the extent of cleaning his house.’

He said poverty exacerbates the problem.

Mhlanga added, ‘There are a lot of things wrong in this country and we can't only accuse teachers of abusing school children. There are a lot of people in the country who grab young girls against their will to make them wives, while some take advantage of the fact that they are poor and promise to do everything for them (in return for sex).’

Mhlanga is quite right when he says that it is not only teachers who abuse children (sexually and physically).

I have written many times about the plight of Swazi children. They live appalling lives of deprivation and abuse. Here are some of the articles I have written. When you put them altogether they make a depressing picture of the life of the Swazi child.

One in three children is sexually abused. Click.

Four in ten children are so malnourished that their growth is stunted. Click.

Hunger and lack of medicine kill up to one Swazi child in seven before they reach the age of five. Click.

About 3 000 Swazi households are headed by children. Click.

Eight year olds scrap for food on streets of Mbabane. Click.

Two children have been jailed in Swaziland for being vagrants Click.

Police fire live bullets at schoolchildren protesting against their deputy principal. Click.

Twenty teachers lined up to thrash children in a sadistic corporal punishment ritual. Click.

Eighteen primary school children were whipped because they were eating their lunch from buckets. Click.

Children are subjected to whipping as punishment by Swazi law courts. Click.

A representative of an international aid agency working in Swaziland called for some Swazi children to be sterilised to stop them having children of their own. Click

Children get a raw deal in the Swazi Press, where in some cases the reporting of children does not uphold the rights of vulnerable children and the reporting of victimised children further victimises those children. Click

START TO GENDER ABUSE CAMPAIGN

Swaziland’s Sixteen Days of Activism on Gender Violence campaign got off to a good start in the Times Sunday.

The United Nations campaign which runs from 25 November (International Women’s Day) to 10 December (Human Rights Day) is designed to raise awareness about the problem and impact of violence on women and children.

To mark the start of the campaign the Times Sunday (25 November 2007) ran two pages of articles about a four-year-old girl who was repeatedly raped.

The Times Sunday reported that the man who is said to have raped the child was caught but community members let him go free with a warning. He later raped an eight-year-old and a four-year-old. It transpired that members of the community knew the man had a record of raping children.

The man has now been arrested and faces two charges of rape and indecent assault.

This was an important story and it was right for the Times Sunday to publish it even though the subject matter is distressing. It is important that the public knows that these things are going on. It is also important to know that many members of the community don’t believe the crime of child rape to be important enough to turn the alleged rapist over to the police.

The Times Sunday reported that the Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) had registered its surprised that people could keep quiet about such an incident.

As part of its coverage of the Sixteen Days of Activism on Gender Violence the Times Sunday also gave information to help parents who might find that their child has been the victim of child sexual abuse.

Also included were statistics about how much violence against women and children take place in Swaziland.

According to its own figures, women were the highest number of SWAGAA clients in the past year with 1,453 of them attended for counselling services. There were 547 males who were counselled and only 427 children.

A total of 242 women were subjected to physical abuse. High numbers on sexual abuse were on the girl child with 172 cases reported while boy children sodomised were 11.

SWAGAA records that lovers are the most perpetrators of violence with 34 per cent of reported cases.

The reports in the Times Sunday also included personal testimony from a gender activist who was herself sexually molested by a male nurse while in labour pains at a hospital. She said, ‘I am a gender activist, I’m an anti abuse advocate, I’m everything that represents an “empowered woman”. I kept wondering to myself, what could have gone wrong, what made me keep silent about this terrible experience that still makes me disgusted even 15 months down the line.’

Interestingly, she said that she was afraid to tell anyone about the assault in case the newspapers got hold of the story. She said this about the fear of the media. ‘I can remember imagining the news headlines “ABC employee raped” “Gender activist sexually assaulted during labour” “Activist claims to be raped”

She may have had some justification for her fears. The headline that the Times Sunday gave to her story was sensational. ‘Gender Activist Breaks her silence: I was sexually molested’