Violence against children in Swaziland: findings from a national survey on violence against children in Swaziland, May 15-June 16, 2007

"We conducted a 40 cluster by 48 national household survey in Swaziland from May 15 to June 16, 2007. A statistically valid sample size was calculated based on available data from prior surveys conducted in South Africa. In the first stage, enumeration areas (EA) (n=40) were selected with probability of selection proportional to size. In the second stage, we selected a systematic sample of households (n=48) with a random start in each EA, yielding a total of 1920 households nationally. A questionnaire was administered to one randomly selected eligible female 13-24 years of age in the selected household. The results of this study indicate that violence against female children is highly prevalent in Swaziland. Approximately 1 in 3 females experienced some form of sexual violence as a child; nearly 1 in 4 females experienced physical violence as a child; and approximately 3 in 10 females experienced emotional abuse as a child." - p. 7Contributors -- Collaborating agencies and organizations -- Acknowledgements -- Executive summary -- Background -- Methods -- Results -- Discussion -- Conclusion -- Recommendations -- Tables -- References -- Appendix A. Initial information form -- Appendix B. Consent form -- Appendix C. Questionnaire -- Appendix D.. List of services -- Appendix E. Referral form for counseling services"October 2007."Cover title.This report was prepared by Avid Reza, Matthew Breiding, Curtis Blanton, James A. Mercy, Linda L. Dahlberg, Mark Anderson, Sapna Bamrah."A collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Swaziland United Nations Children's Fund." - title pageIncludes bibliographical references (p. 39-41)

Effectiveness of a comprehensive sexual and gender-based violence prevention project for in-school girls in Swaziland

Swaziland is one of the sub-Saharan African countries affected by sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and HIV and AIDS, with women facing greater risk compared to men. In response to increasing reports of violence against women and children in the country, the Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse launched a Girls’ Empowerment Clubs (GEC) program in primary and secondary schools in order prevent SGBV cases. Due to limitations of the program (such as being led by teachers and reliance on volunteers), an intervention study was carried out by the Population Council to test the effectiveness of an enhanced version, “GEC-Plus,” that used a “safe spaces” approach of building the girls’ social assets in order to mitigate SGBV. The specific objective of the study was to assess the effectiveness of the GEC-Plus project on SGBV knowledge, attitudes, and practices among in-school girls in Swaziland. This report summarizes the key results emerging from the study

YOUTH EMPLOYMENT IN AFRICA: NEW EVIDENCE AND POLICIES FROM SWAZILAND

Drawing on the 2007 and 2010 Swaziland Labor Force Surveys, this paper provides first systematic evidence on recent youth employment challenges in Swaziland, a small, land-locked, middle-income country with one of the highest youth unemployment rates in Africa. The paper first documents the various labor market disadvantages faced by the Swazi youth, such as high unemployment and discouragement, and how they changed from 2007 to 2010. A multinomial logit regression analysis is then carried out to analyze the socio-economic drivers of the unfavorable youth labor market outcomes on the supply side. Since many of the factors that can unlock the employment potential of the Swazi youth are on the demand side of the labor market, the paper examines the barriers to job creation and youth entrepreneurship. It concludes with experiences of other countries that could inform design of more effective interventions for youth employment in Swaziland.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/133071/1/wp1052.pd

Transformation in realising women's land rights and access to justice: lessons from the law in action in Tanzania

Women’s land rights have been part of land law reform agendas taking place across Africa since the 1990s. In 1999 Tanzania was at the forefront, enshrining women’s equal rights to land in the country’s Land Acts. Yet how effective has the legislation been for women who claim a right to land in practice? Is an individual able to access justice effectively through the legal system? This paper examines the transformative possibilities and limits of Tanzania’s land law reforms, both within and beyond the walls of the courtroom. It presents an overview of three lessons for policy and practice drawn from in-depth ethnographic research published in the author’s book, Women, Land and Justice in Tanzania (Woodbridge: James Currey, 2015). It is argued, firstly, that an holistic approach to land, marriage and inheritance law reform is needed. Secondly, law reform does not in itself bring about social transformation. An individual’s ability to access justice is significantly affected by key social and political actors within family and community who interact with local courts. Thirdly, courts must ‘ask the woman question’ and recognise the implicit male bias that shapes the production and weight given to certain kinds of evidence in land cases. Gendered norms and social power relations remain critical factors affecting women’s land rights and access to justice in practice

The experiences and meanings of recovery for Swazi women living with ‘Schizophrenia’

Introduction: Globally, twenty-four million people live with schizophrenia, 90% living in developing countries. While most Western cultures recognise service user expertise within the recovery process this is not evident in developing countries. In particular, Swazi women diagnosed with schizophrenia experience stigma from family, community and care providers, thus compromising their recovery process. Aim: This study aimed to explore the experiences and meanings of recovery for Swazi women living with schizophrenia. Methodology: Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis was used. Fifteen women were recruited from Swaziland National Psychiatric Hospital out patients’ department, and face to face interviews were conducted. Findings: Four super-ordinate themes were identified: (1) The emotionality of ‘illness of the brain’; (2) Pain! Living with the illness and with others; (3) She is mad just ignore her; and (4) Being better. Discussion: Discussion focuses on the findings of this study and a number of positive and negative implications emanating from them; labelling, stigma and the roles of family, culture and religious beliefs on the process of recovery. Implications for practice: This study provides practitioners with insight into the importance of the socio-cultural context of the lives of women diagnosed with schizophrenia and how, in understanding this, mental health care could be improved

Public sector nurses in Swaziland: can the downturn be reversed?

BACKGROUND: The lack of human resources for health (HRH) is increasingly being recognized as a major bottleneck to scaling up antiretroviral treatment (ART), particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, whose societies and health systems are hardest hit by HIV/AIDS. In this case study of Swaziland, we describe the current HRH situation in the public sector. We identify major factors that contribute to the crisis, describe policy initiatives to tackle it and base on these a number of projections for the future. Finally, we suggest some areas for further research that may contribute to tackling the HRH crisis in Swaziland. METHODS: We visited Swaziland twice within 18 months in order to capture the HRH situation as well as the responses to it in 2004 and in 2005. Using semi-structured interviews with key informants and group interviews, we obtained qualitative and quantitative data on the HRH situation in the public and mission health sectors. We complemented this with an analysis of primary documents and a review of the available relevant reports and studies. RESULTS: The public health sector in Swaziland faces a serious shortage of health workers: 44% of posts for physicians, 19% of posts for nurses and 17% of nursing assistant posts were unfilled in 2004. We identified emigration and attrition due to HIV/AIDS as major factors depleting the health workforce. The annual training output of only 80 new nurses is not sufficient to compensate for these losses, and based on the situation in 2004 we estimated that the nursing workforce in the public sector would have been reduced by more than 40% by 2010. In 2005 we found that new initiatives by the Swazi government, such as the scale-up of ART, the introduction of retention measures to decrease emigration and the influx of foreign nurses could have the potential to improve the situation. A combination of such measures, together with the planned increase in the training capacity of the country's nursing schools, could even reverse the trend of a diminishing health workforce. CONCLUSION: Emigration and attrition due to HIV/AIDS are undermining the health workforce in the public sector of Swaziland. Short-term and long-term measures for overcoming this HRH crisis have been initiated by the Swazi government and must be further supported and increased. Scaling up antiretroviral treatment (ART) and making it accessible and acceptable for the health workforce is of paramount importance for halting the attrition due to HIV/AIDS. To this end, we also recommend exploring ways to make ART delivery less labour-intensive. The production of nurses and nursing assistants must be urgently increased. Although the migration of HRH is a global issue requiring solutions at various levels, innovative in-country strategies for retaining staff must be further explored in order to stem as much as possible the emigration from Swaziland