Speech to Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse

April 13, 2005

      I would like to say how honored I am to be asked to speak to you today, how much I admire SWAGAA and the work that you are doing and how important I think your work is against the abuse of women and children in Swaziland.

      First I want to congratulate SWAGAA for your recent training workshop that trained police, prosecutors, doctors and counselors to help make effective the Child Friendly Court. I also congratulate you on the fact that the Child Friendly Court was activated for the first time last month in March, following years of work to get the legislation drafted and passed by Parliament. Finally I congratulate you for your Community Mobilization initiative to protect children in their own communities—conducting a Trainer of Trainer workshop for 43 participants who will in turn train 9,000 community protectors in 360 communities to prevent child abuse and respond in cases where abuse has taken place.  You have recognized a problem and are doing something about it. You have our respect and our gratitude.

      I haven’t been in Swaziland as US Ambassador for very long but long enough to know that in addition to being a very beautiful country, Swaziland’s outer beauty masks another reality--where there is hunger, poverty, malnourishment, and the terrible scourge of HIV/AIDS.

      Unfortunately too, the newspapers of Swaziland are full of stories that recount a sad pattern of abuse of women and children. I think that all decent people would agree that this abusive treatment of women and children is unacceptable and cannot long be tolerated by either the citizens of Swaziland, its government or civil society. The Government, to its credit, has recently said as much in its recent initiative to publicly condemn the abuse of women and children. 

      Clearly, local law must reflect stated government policies that citizens must have the right to live in peace and dignity and have their rights protected by the laws of the land.

      I am sure that rape, violence and other such acts against women and children do not represent the values and traditions of Swazis. On the contrary, rights of women and children must be defended and protected.

      What are some other reasons this is so important:

      Women are the main householders/home-keepers in Swaziland, as elsewhere in Africa. Children and grandchildren are being raised mostly by women. Over half the population is female, and about half of the population is made up of children.

      Experience shows that significant gains in social-economic, educational, health and other development outcomes hinge fundamentally upon advancing the status of women.

      With regard to the HIV-AIDS pandemic, about half of all HIV infections globally occur in women, and in African countries like Swaziland well over half of HIV infections are now in women.  Unless women are protected – for example through campaigns to promote fidelity and avoid multiple partnerships which facilitate the rapid spread of the HIV virus – then the rate of HIV infection will continue to soar.

      The experience of Uganda, the country that has been the most successful in reducing national HIV prevalence, indicates that advocating for the empowerment of women is of fundamental importance. Studies from Uganda show that women gained greater political, legal and economic status, which helped facilitate behavior change and other ways to reduce HIV transmission.

      The issue of child abuse is appalling in its scope in Swaziland. This is not only a terrible human/child rights issue, but this behavior is resulting in HIV/STI infection in children. Abuse of children must stop now.

      What are some possible solutions to the problems:

      1.  Legal reform -- to review and update legislation and provide accessible legal services to help resolve cases of abuse against women and children.

      2.  Information -- assuring that information on these accessible and affordable services is made available.

      3.  Public awareness programs -- to eradicate beliefs that somehow legitimize and tolerate violence against women.

     4.  The Media -- must be encouraged to play a constructive role on exposing and eliminating violent acts against women and children.

     5.  Stakeholders -- common goals need to be defined and resources raised and pooled to achieve common goals. The churches role in organizing and messaging on these issues is key yet not well developed.

     6.  Government -- should continue to condemn abuse and fund initiatives through the national budget.

     7.  Medical personnel -- should be able to write detailed reports that can be effectively used in the courts.

     8.  NGOs -- more NGOs need to provide counseling support and places of safety for abused women and children.

      The US Embassy is proud to be a supporter of SWAGAA and its cause. Bless you all for your good work and dedicated efforts.  You are one of the good faces of Swaziland.