Times Of Swaziland: DPM WARNS: SURGE IN SODOMY CASES IN ESWATINI

DPM WARNS: SURGE IN SODOMY CASES IN ESWATINI
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Nonduduzo Kunene on 21/11/2024 09:19:00


LOBAMBA – The Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Thulisile Dladla says sodomy is one
social ill that is currently taking over the country.
Sodomy is the crime of forcing another person to perform oral or anal sex.
Dladla gave the warning yesterday in Parliament during her office’s second
quarter performance report debate by the Senate portfolio committee. The DPM
said the country has been taken over by social ills perpetrated against boys and
girls. The DPM said social ills are not unique to Eswatini, but the entire world
is facing similar challenges. She said they have noted that there are people
from other countries who enter Eswatini with the purpose of abusing young girls
and boys because they have money.
Sex work
She highlighted that in other regions of the world, sex work has been legalised,
but the issue is the abuse or luring children into sex work. “The abuse of
young children, especially sodomy committed against young boys is
unacceptable,” she said. The DPM said if sodomy is not addressed, the country
would find itself sinking deep in another social ill that can not be fought. She
said to clamp down on sodomy; they are working with law enforcers to follow the
issue in order to protect the children who are exposed to sodomy.  Dladla said
the people who come into the country do not only force the children into sodomy
and sex work, but human trafficking as well.“Human trafficking is also high
because it is another social ill that is taking over,” she said.
The DPM said currently, the country is facing a high use of illegal drugs
because at the beginning, there was the notion that Eswatini was just being used
as a conduit, but today emaSwati are using drugs.  She also cited alcohol abuse
and stressed the need to clamp down on people who sell alcohol to children. She
highlighted that there are a lot of interventions that the DPM’s Office has
put in place in order to get to the root cause of the social ills. The DPM was
responding to a concern raised by Senator Princess Temaswati. The senator stated
that there are children all over the streets are victims of all crimes.
She said due to their vulnerability, the children ended up being victims of all
criminal activities and targeted by predators. The princess added that some of
the children are seen in the streets selling late at night, which she said made
her wonder when they get time to rest and do their school work.  “What scares
me the most is them being exposed to dangerous circumstances,” she said. She
said there is a need for the DPM’s Office, with all stakeholders involved, to
have institutions that will house and protect the children who are vulnerable so
that they can enjoy being children.
Parents
The DPM also shared that those who are not looking for their children and
parents would be brought to book, as her office will soon be launching a
programme as they received transport assistance from development partners. It is
worth noting that the DPM’s Office in the second quarter report for the
2024/25 financial year, reported that the Eswatini National Child Helpline 116,
received 537 calls/cases from all four regions of the country. Manzini recorded
the highest number of calls of 209 cases, followed by Hhohho at 142 cases, then
Lubombo at 97 cases and lastly is Shiselweni Region with 89 cases.  The DPM
reported that violence against children continued to be the greatest challenge
occurring in Eswatini, as it comprises of 71 per cent of all the reported cases
this quarter. This, she said, implied that interventions around this category of
child rights violations require a spiralled approach. She reported that
Kwaluseni Inkhundla continued to receive the highest number of reported cases at
56, followed by Mtfongwaneni Inkhundla at 37.
On another note, Dladla reported that they had also observed an increase in
teenage pregnancies among girls aged 13-14 years. She said these teenage mothers
continue to access health services. However, when brought in for examination and
questioning, these adolescent girls refuse to undergo examinations for evidence
collection purposes.
“They also withhold information regarding the father of the child they are
carrying. Suspected perpetrators of violence are now reportedly relocating to
Mozambique and South Africa after being reported for gender-based violence (GBV)
or violence against children (VAC) cases.”