SWAZILAND: Two-Thirds of Women Beaten and
Abused
Photo:
IRIN |
One
in every three Swazi girls has been sexually
abused |
MBABANE, 19 September 2007 (PlusNews) - One in
every three female Swazis has experienced some form of sexual violence before
turning 18, and two out of three aged 18 to 24, according to the first national
survey to chart the scope of sexual and other types of violence perpetrated
against women and girls.
From infancy to until they turned 24, nearly
half (48.2 percent) of Swazi women experienced some form of sexual violence,
according to the National Survey on Violence Experienced by Female Children and
Youths in Swaziland, conducted by the government, UN agencies and
non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
A key question in the survey was:
"Has any adult ever kicked, bitten, slapped, hit you with a fist, threatened you
with a weapon or thrown something at you?" The findings were the result of
interviews with 1,300 women and girls aged between 13 and 24, randomly chosen
from about 1,900 households across the country.
"We knew it was bad for
women in Swaziland; we just did not have the statistical evidence to show how
bad," said Primrose Tsabedze, a counsellor for abused women in the central town
of Manzini.
Statistics from the Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse
(SWAGAA), an NGO working to combat gender violence, have shown a steady rise in
cases of violence against women during the past decade, which has been partly
credited to better reporting of such crimes.
"Our statistics are based
on our case loads," said Nonhlanhla Dlamini, a SWAGAA director. "We have always
needed a national survey; that is why it is so important that one has now been
done, even if the results are horrifying."
Why so much abuse?
Before the new constitution was adopted in 2006, Swazi women
had the legal status of minors, and were unable to own property or open a bank
account without the permission of a male relative or husband.
We knew it was bad for women in Swaziland;
we just did not have the statistical evidence to show how
bad |
The traditionally low status
of women has also been linked to the staggeringly high levels of HIV infection:
40 percent of adult Swazis are estimated to be HIV positive, the highest rate in
the world.
Some observers blame worsening economic and humanitarian
conditions in the country, along with the belief by some HIV-positive men that
sleeping with a virgin girl can prevent AIDS, for the rise in violence against
women and children.
Sexual coercion was common: six out of 10 Swazi
females reported that they were forced into their first sexual experience; of
these, five percent said they were raped or otherwise "forced".
Fear of violence
Women often submitted to
unwanted sex out of fear of physical violence: about 28 percent of girls aged
between 13 and 17 experienced physical violence, and the likelihood that they
would be assaulted increased as they grew into adulthood, with 33 percent of
women aged between 18 and 24 saying they were violence survivors.
Exposure to education was no protection against violence - 98 percent of
women and girls who participated in the survey had been to school.
Abortion is illegal in Swaziland, and family planning is generally
disdained by Swazi men: 29 percent of women and girls reported unwanted
pregnancies but despite the multiplicity of sexual encounters reported by women
under 24, only 12.9 percent of them were married.
Commenting on the
preliminary survey report this week, United Nations Children's Agency (UNICEF)
representative Jama Gulaid, said, "It is important to know the epidemiology of
violence against children and women - how big the problem is, who is affected,
when, where and possibly why. We need such information to improve our response."
The need for such a survey was raised in December 2006 by UNICEF's
Swaziland office, which provided funding and technical support. The ministries
of Health and Social Welfare, Education and Justice, NGOs like SWAGAA and World
Vision, and other UN agencies such as UNAIDS, the UN Population Fund and the
World Health Organisation, helped conduct the survey.
Little
community support
Community support for sexually and physically
abused women was also examined, to establish what might be required by way of
safe houses, clinics and legal services.
"There is very little [support]
available to women and girls who suffer violence," said Tsabedze, the Manzini
counsellor. "The perpetrator is almost always a family member, and neighbours
and authorities are reluctant to intervene in family matters."
The
Deputy Prime Minister's Office told IRIN/PlusNews that the police have been
sensitised to domestic violence issues in recent years, and had made arrests
leading to convictions.
The perpetrator is almost always a family
member, and neighbours and authorities are reluctant to intervene in
family matters. |
Since 2004, the Ministry of
Education has run a four-digit toll-free telephone number (9664) for children
experiencing abuse at school or at home. Callers receive basic on-line
counselling, and cases are followed up by Regional Guidance Officers. Half of
the callers have been boys, suggesting the need for a survey investigating abuse
perpetrated against them.
However, use of the service has dropped
drastically since its inception, indicating that reported abuse was either not
being resolved or children have lost confidence in the initiative. Cases dropped
by half from 2004, when they numbered 1,574, to 745 in 2006.
"Violence
has a huge cost to society," said UNICEF's Gulaid. "The physical consequences
include injuries to the body, and disability. The psychological consequences
include alcohol and drug abuse, depression, anxiety, development delays, eating
disorders, suicidal tendencies, feelings of shame and guilt."
The sexual
and reproductive consequences include sexual dysfunction, unwanted pregnancies,
and sexually transmitted diseases, he said, which was particularly dangerous in
Swaziland, where over a quarter of sexually active Swazi adults are infected
with the HI virus.
One of the saddest statistics reported by the survey
was that 67 percent of Swazi women told researchers they felt depressed.