Following are the statistics SWAGAA just released to the press. Not a pretty picture…We are in Marula season right (an alcoholic drink made from local fruit…you’ll notice February stats are higher and the celebration of this season is why. Lots of horrendous stories in the press right now about jealous drunk ex-boyfriends on killing sprees.)
SWAGAA STATISTICS FOR 2012
Overview
During 2012, SWAGAA provided care and support for 1149 cases. This was slightly down from last year’s number which was 1248. Since abuse is under-reported, this does not mean there is a decease of abuse in Swaziland. On average, SWAGAA counselors took care of 96 cases per month. The months with the highest number of new clients were: January, February and October.
• Emotional abuse cases were the highest at 50%, followed by physical at 19%, sexual at 15%, financial at 12% and neglect at 4%.
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• 69% of survivors were female, 31% male. There has been a 3% increase in males reporting from 2011’s figures.
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• 73% of perpetrators were male, 27% were female. Males went up by 1% compared to last year.
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• 82% of perpetrators were family members, relatives or in a spousal or boyfriend/girlfriend relationship with the survivor.
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• The majority of survivors (284) were between 26-40 years old. 92 cases were children between 0-17.
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• 89% of cases occurred in the home.
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• 20% of clients were HIV positive, 4% were HIV negative and 4% did not wish to disclose. An astonishing 27% did not know their status.
REGIONS
There were 608 cases that occurred within the Manzini Region, 174 in Hhohho, 128 in Lubombo and 47 in Shiselweni. The high percentage of abuse cases in Manzini corresponds with the location of our main office.
Figure 1
* There are 957 cases recorded here. The remaining 192 occurred outside Swaziland but were still reported to SWAGAA.
TYPES OF ABUSE
The majority of cases, 647, were emotional/verbal abuse. Physical abuse was next at 245, followed by sexual abuse at 195 and financial abuse at 156. The remaining types of abuse cases were neglect and human trafficking as shown in the figure below.
SURVIVOR AND PERPETRATOR PROFILE
Of survivor clients, 69% were female and 31% were male. There was a slight increase in the number of males reporting abuse especially emotional abuse. Last year’s figures were 28% male survivor clients.
The data relating to the sex of the perpetrator shows 73% were male and 27% were females.
Relationship between Survivor and Perpetrator
According to the available data, 82% of the perpetrators were family members, relatives or in a relationship (spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend) with the client. The data indicates that in the majority of cases the perpetrator is well known to the survivor of violence.
AGES OF SURVIVORS
From available data on 650 SWAGAA clients, 284 were 26-40 years old. 135 clients were 18-25 and 117 were 41-60. A total of 92 clients were children between the ages of 0 and 17. Two clients did not state their age.
PLACE WHERE ABUSE OCCURRED
From a total of 650 reported cases, 576 occurred within the home. This means 89% of the reported cases of abuse happened at home. Nine cases did not state where the abuse occurred.
Analysis on the abuse within the home and relationship with perpetrators demonstrates that 47% of abuse at home is committed in ‘relationships’, meaning husbands, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends etc. Family members and relatives cause 38% of the abuse which occurs at home.
ABUSE AND HIV/AIDS
The HIV status of 650 clients was collected during the counseling process. 20% of the clients were HIV positive, 46% were HIV negative and 4% did not wish to disclose their status. An astonishing 27% of clients did not know their HIV status which demonstrates a need for survivors of abuse to have access to Voluntary Counseling and Testing services.
FINDINGS
• The cases reported to SWAGAA represent only a proportion of the abuse which is occurring in Swaziland. According the A National Study on Violence against Children and Young Women in Swaziland by UNICEF in 2007, approximately 1 in 3 females have experienced some form of sexual violence as a child. Therefore conclusions can be drawn that there are a significant number of unreported cases. Continued advocacy and awareness needs to be conducted in order to increase reporting.
• 89% of the SWAGAA abuse cases happened within the home and the perpetrators were well known to the survivors. There needs to be an effort to increase safe spaces within Swazi homes and to investigate the role of such cultural practices as Tibi Tendlu (keeping family matters private).
