UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 51) The Constitution protects women and girls from being forced to contract marriages without their consent and being subjected to customs they are opposed to in conscience. Therefore, customary practices of kungenwa, kwendziswa and others are no longer practised against the free and full consent of the intending spouses. At a Customary marriage ceremony, the presence of a Chief’s representative plays an important role of witnessing the proceedings of the ceremony including if the woman is a consenting party to the marriage.
Para 52) With regards to the fixed legal age to marry, the country is reviewing the Marriage Act of 1964 which will fix the marriageable age to 18 for both males and females. A draft Marriages Bill is currently undergoing legislative processes.
Para 53) There are on-going community dialogues, sensitisation campaigns, media advocacy on the adherence to laws protecting children, in particular the girl child, against harmful practices that hinder their full development. Where there are suspected reported cases of child marriages, the office of the Deputy Prime Minister attends to the cases and as a result several children have been removed from forced marriages and cases referred to the criminal justice system for investigations and prosecution.

UN Compilation:
Para 56) The HR Committee … was also concerned that customary law and practices perpetuated inequality between men and women, in particular with regard to inheritance and property rights, and that cultural practices such as polygamy, forced marriage and bride inheritance continued to exist.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 29) HRW noted that the Constitution does not include marital status or sexual orientation as a protected ground against discrimination.
Para 33) JS4 stated that the discrimination of lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and inter- sex (LGBTI) persons based on either actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity persisted and that same-sex sexual conduct between male persons was still criminalized.

National Report:
Para 9) Since the last review, Eswatini has enacted several legislations that domesticate the various human rights conventions ratified by the country. Some of the enacted legislations include inter alia: - the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act 2018,
Para 10) Further, Eswatini has made progress in developing sector policies guiding the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights as well as improving the livelihoods of Emaswati. These include National Gender Policy, Education and Training Sector Policy 2018 …
Para 11) During the period under review, Eswatini’s jurisprudence on the elimination of discrimination and inequality has made positive strides, thereby protecting and promoting the rights of women in accordance with Sections 20 and 28 of the Constitution and further giving effect to the provisions of the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and other instruments that the country has ratified.
Para 12) In this regard, reference is made to the case of Makhosazane Eunice Sacolo (nee Dlamini) and Another vs. Jukhi Justice Sacolo and 2 Others (1403/16) [2019] SZHC (166) 30th August 2019 wherein the Court declared the common law doctrine of marital power invalid in that it is discriminatory against married women and offends against the Constitutional right to equality before the law and the right to dignity. The Court further declared that spouses married in terms of the Marriage Act 1964 and in Community of Property have equal capacity and authority to administer marital property. Women in Eswatini are now able to buy and sell property, sign contracts, and conduct legal proceedings without their husbands’ consent.
Para 35) The Kingdom of Eswatini has undertaken various approaches and strategies towards ending all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls. Women and girls are discriminated in many ways often disguised as tradition, customs as well as patriarchal norms and values which society has held on to in the name of indigenous culture (way of life).
Para 36) The Kingdom enacted the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act No. 15 of 2018. This Act makes provision concerning sexual offences and domestic violence, prevention and the protection of all persons from harm and acts of domestic violence amongst others. It serves as deterrent to a lot of discrimination, exploitation and mainly violence against women and girls who are considered as the most vulnerable groups of society. Regulations have been recently developed to facilitate holistic implementation of the SODV Act which include the establishment of specific institutions to further enhance the protection of women and children.
Para 37) During the period under review, Government has developed and is implementing a National Strategy and Action Plan to End Violence (2017-2022). This undertaking was in response to the realization of the lack of a multisectoral framework that will guide the prevention and response agenda to violence in the country. This framework has been very instrumental in the programming for prevention, social and behavioural change as well as protection of all vulnerable groups from violence. As such, this has seen the advancement of the Male involvement agenda being formed into a Men Engage Network to engage men and boys on gender equality, prevention of violence and abuse in all settings. There are Non Governmental Organisations like Kwakha Indvodza (KI), Swatini Action Group against Abuse (SWAGAA) among others that are leading these initiatives to eliminate violence in our societies.
Para 38) Eswatini has further developed a National Strategy and Plan of Action on Positive Parenting (2019-2023) currently at advanced stage of endorsement. The plan provides a blueprint and national roadmap towards achieving holistic child development through empowering and supporting parents to discharge their parenting roles. This plan seeks to instil principles that discourage violence and promote positive discipline, to assist eliminate all forms of violence including those appearing as child discipline.
Para 39) The National Gender Policy 2010 has been reviewed to align it with the Beijing declaration and Platform for Action as well as other regional and international frameworks. This policy will guide gender mainstreaming strategies for the next 10 years (2020–2030). However, due to the COVID 19 pandemic disruptions, it is yet to be implemented and integrated into national budgets.
Para 40) Eswatini has continued to invest in women driven economic empowerment initiatives, with the leadership from government’s strategic roadmap 2019–2023. A case in point is E100 million has been used to establish the Women’s Business Hub in Manzini.
Para 41) The Small, Micro and Medium Enterprise (SMME) Policy 2018 and the Eswatini National Financial Inclusion Strategy (2017-2022) have been adopted to contribute to poverty alleviation by enabling alternative channels to serve the poor.
Para 42) The major aim of the Financial Inclusion Strategy is to ensure the “delivery of financial services and products in ways that are available, accessible and affordable to all segments” of the country’s populace. The target is to grow adult access from 43% to 75% and reduce the excluded from 27% to 15% by 2022. The target will be achieved by expanding mobile money services (e-money) increasing usage of banks, reducing risks in management of financial services and devising alternative ways of serving the poor. Further, it targets the un-served or underserved in rural areas; women and youth; Micro, Small & Medium Entrepreneurs including in the agriculture sector. The Strategy will facilitate the participation of Women and Youth Entrepreneurs in economic activities, particularly women in the Informal sector who often lack access to credit for business start-ups and growth. Studies reveal that the Informal sector provides employment to 40.2 percent women compared to 25.5 percent men.
Para 43) Further, the country has developed a Citizens Economic Empowerment Bill 2021 to enable equal participation of women and men in economic transformation. The Bill seeks to, among other issues, “promote gender equality in accessing, owning, managing, controlling and exploiting economic resources”.
Para 44) The Government of Eswatini has established the Federation of National Associations of women in business in Eastern and Southern Africa (FEMCOM) along with a strategic plan of 2018-2022. FEMCOM is responsible for facilitating economic empowerment of women and youth entrepreneurs. Its mandate is to promote programmes, which integrate women into trade and development activities in various business fields, thus contributing to national development and the promotion of vision 2022.
Para 45) In 2020, the Government launched 50 Million African Women’s Speak digital Platform. To contribute to the economic empowerment of women through the provision of a networking platform that will enable women in business to access information and financial services. Specifically, the objective is to establish a platform to improve the ability of women entrepreneurs to network and share information as well as to access information on financial and non-financial services.
Para 46) Eswatini is currently using the definition of discrimination in terms of section 20 of the Constitution read together with the reviewed Gender policy which has aligned the definition of discrimination with that in CEDAW. A legislation that will comprehensively domesticate CEDAW is yet to be developed. Further, a pack of family law bills have been developed that seek to domesticate certain parts of CEDAW and are currently undergoing stakeholder consultation processes.
Para 47) Section 211(2) of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini provides that all citizens of Eswatini have access to land regardless of gender. However, post the Constitution, some Chiefdoms followed the traditional system of land allocation. This meant that women only accessed land through males which could either be their husbands, male relative or male child. For some women who were unmarried or widowed, access to land remained a struggle. However, it is worth mentioning that there is now a paradigm shift from the patronage system as most Chiefs are aware of the Constitutional rights of women, thus land is accessible to women without the assistance of a male. Efforts are being made to develop an information management system that will provide statistical data on this development.
Para 48) With regards to representation of women in politics, Eswatini enacted the Election of Women Members into the House of Assembly Act No. 06 of 2018 to ensure that at least 30% of women constitute the House of Assembly, thereby giving effect to section 86 of the Constitution. However, this target has not been met as currently, women legislators constitute 20.38% of the legislators, and 29% at Cabinet.
Para 49) There are still barriers that hinder women’s ability to be elected or appointed into decision making positions such as patriarchy, economic disadvantages, social stereotypes, and socio-political perceptions around women’s leadership. As a mitigating measure, Eswatini is developing a National Strategy on women’s participation in politics and decision-making. This strategy seeks to address barriers to women’s participation.
Para 50) The Elections and Boundaries Commission conducts Civic Voter education to sensitize members of the public on the electoral process before elections. Further Civil Society Organisations conduct educational vote for women campaigns to ensure women’s participation in politics and decision-making structures. Women candidates and nominees are capacitated on leadership and campaigning skills prior to Secondary Elections.
Para 112) The enactment of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act, 2018 and the development of regulations for the implementation of the act: This legislation aims to address the high rates of sexual and gender-based violence in the Kingdom. It makes provision concerning sexual offences and domestic violence, prevention and the protection of all persons from harm and acts of domestic violence amongst others. The development of Regulations is to realise the holistic implementation of the SODV Act which include the establishment of specific institutions aimed at providing protection for the most vulnerable groups such as women and children.
114) Despite the progress made, Eswatini continues to experience a number of challenges in the promotion and protection of human rights. Some of the notable challenges include: • High number of gender-based violence cases disproportionately affecting women and girls; approximately 1 in 3 females having experienced some form of sexual abuse by age of 18 years and 48% of women reporting to have experienced some form of sexual violence in their life time. This is despite the policies and legislation enacted to address this scourge.

UN Compilation:
Para 52) The HR Committee was concerned about reports of widespread violence against women and children, in particular pervasive sexual violence, including rape and marital rape, and that relevant officials lacked specific training on gender-based violence. It was also concerned that the national strategy and action plan to end violence for the period 2013–2018 had not yet been implemented.
Para 53) In its replies to the CRC Eswatini stated that, according to the 2016 study on violence against children, nearly three quarters of children experienced routine violence in the form of violent discipline. Over a third of all girls reported experiencing some form of sexual violence during childhood. Nearly 3 in 10 girls reported experiencing emotional violence during childhood, mostly from family members.
Para 55) The United Nations country office in Eswatini indicated that the State had made significant strides in addressing gender inequalities. However, pervasive structural disparities, deep-rooted harmful gender stereotypes and patriarchal attitudes had led to gender inequalities that disadvantaged women, while the country’s dual legal system – which was based on a constitutional legal framework and traditional and customary laws – provided women and girls with limited protection.
Para 56) The HR Committee noted with concern that several domestic laws contained discriminatory provisions towards women, such as the Marriage Act, and chapter 4 of the Constitution, which differentiated between men and women in the acquisition and transfer of citizenship. The Committee was also concerned that customary law and practices perpetuated inequality between men and women, in particular with regard to inheritance and property rights, and that cultural practices such as polygamy, forced marriage and bride inheritance continued to exist. The lack of equal representation of women in the public and private sectors, in particular in decision-making positions, was also a matter of concern.
Para 58) While the United Nations country team welcomed the Employment Act, which provided equal pay for equal work, it regretted that women’s participation and representation in politics and positions of influence remained a major challenge. In particular, the country team indicated that women’s representation in parliament still failed to meet the target of 30 per cent as provided for in the Constitution.
Para 59) The United Nations country team noted with satisfaction that, in 2018, Eswatini had passed the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act into law, and welcomed the strategy, plan of action and guidelines to address gender-based violence. However, the country team regretted the lack of resources for their full implementation. In particular, the country team noted that the Department of Gender and Family Issues remained challenged in terms of human resources and financial resources, and weak coordination of gender issues in the country.
Para 61) The United Nations country team was concerned about high levels of sexual violence during childhood, with an estimated one in three girls experiencing some form of sexual violence before the age of 18. The country team regretted that, despite the legislative measures taken, the weak government coordination in the area of child protection impeded effective and scaled response.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 9) JS2 noted that Eswatini operated a dual legal system with a component on not codified patriarchal systems of traditional norms, which was often in conflict with common law, the constitution and human rights standards, and had resulted in conflicts leading to numerous violations of rights, in particular, women's rights.
Para 52) While welcoming the enactment of the Sexual Offences Domestic Violence Act in 2018, several stakeholders were concerned that Eswatini’s customary norms and practices continued to undermine the rights of women. In JS7’s view, the fact that Swazi Law and Customary law was not codified, it left women vulnerable to abuse.
Para 53) JS6 regretted that the Constitution denied to women the right to transmit citizenship to their children and foreign spouse-a right reserved for men, and that gender discrimination in Eswatini’s nationality law had resulted in wide-ranging human rights violations, including with regard to inheritance, property rights and freedom of movement. JS7 moreover stated that women did not enjoy the same rights as men to seek separation, divorce or annulment of marriage, and were politically marginalised. The authorities have not met the goal of having 30 representatives of Parliament being women.
Para 54) JS10 also noted with concern that women were very often unlawfully subjected to land grabbing, evictions and disinheritance, situation that had been heightened by the Covid-19 lockdown where victims have had very limited options to seek redress for rights violations.
Para 58) HRW was concerned at the high rates of gender-based violence and that women and girls, especially those living in rural areas under traditional leaders and governed by highly patriarchal Swazi law and custom, were often subjected to discrimination and harmful practices such as the “inhlanti” and “kwendzisa”, and “kungenwa”. According to some stakeholders, married women remain “perpetual minors” and are subject to their husbands, who make key decisions for them as their “guardians.” Young women are forced to take part in highly-stereotyped cultural activities and may be punished or fined by traditional leaders if they resist.
Para 59) Several stakeholders also noted with concern that, according to statistics available, 1 in 3 women in Eswatini experienced some form of sexual violence by the time they were 18 and almost one in 2 women experienced some form of sexual violence in their lifetime, with boyfriends and husbands being the most frequent perpetrators. Only 3% of these incidents are reported to the police, only 7% of victims have access to counselling services, and 2.1% utilize a clinic or hospital.
Para 60) According to JS10 and HKCIJ, the prevalence of gender-based violence increased with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and domestic violence increased during the lockdowns.
Para 66) In HKCIJ’s opinion, the ongoing prevalence and acceptance of gender-based violence against children was also extremely concerning, as well as insufficient assistance or support provided to victims. JS6 added that domestic and gender-based violence were among the issues children and adolescent girls faced as they stayed home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has also increased children’s vulnerability to exploitation, abuse, neglect and violence by directly affecting their caregivers or causing the loss of their families’ and communities’ livelihoods.
Para 71) JS6 was concerned that the Nationality law included gender discriminatory provisions that contributed to statelessness, depriving Swazi women and their children of equal protection under the law.
Para 72) JS6 indicated that women were also a group at risk of statelessness. The deprivation of nationality of women upon marriage to a foreign national have been documented in practice.

National Report:
Para 58) Eswatini has observed a steady downward trend in Tuberculosis (TB) incidence (363/100,000 population) and TB notifications, TB related mortality and TB/HIV coinfection rates. …
Para 59) Interventions such as intensified TB screening in health care settings and communities, use of rapid molecular TB diagnostic tests, strengthening TB treatment adherence system, scaling up of HIV testing and treatment services in TB settings and commencing TB patients living with HIV on antiretroviral treatment (from 92% in 2016 to 98% in 2020), scaling up of TB preventive services among vulnerable populations such as screening People Living with HIV (PLHIV)for TB and initiating them on TB Preventive treatment (from 1% in 2017 to 65% in 2020) as well as capacity building of healthcare workers have contributed to the observed reductions in TB cases and better treatment outcomes.
Para 61) Eswatini has made tremendous strides towards epidemic control through a focus on key interventions in testing and treatment, coupled with strong community prevention programming. It is estimated that 95% of all PLHIV know their HIV status due to successful case identification and messaging. Early adoption of Test and Start (T&S) programme increased numbers of people on treatment, and strategic interventions to increase access to viral load and to support retention have led to a viral suppression rate of 95% for those who are on ART. According to the 2020 HIV Estimates and Projections Report, new infections have been declining since 2016 from around 8,000 to 4,500 in 2019.
Para 62) The Kingdom of Eswatini had a National Strategic Framework (NSF) from 2014– 2018 which has since been replaced by NSF 2018-2023 to further reduce new HIV Infections. The current NSF 2018-2023 is being implemented and a Mid-term review is ongoing. The country adopted the Test and start for all people-testing positive for HIV, introduced a HIV self-testing programme to encourage people to know their HIV status. Further, community ART groups (CAG) were established which has also reduced AIDS deaths from 2,700 in 2016 to 2,300 in 2020 and the HIV Prevalence has relatively remained around 27% for the past four years.
Para 63) The Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) programming has reduced the mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) to less than 2%17 at 6-8weeks. The country has developed an Elimination of Mother to child transmission of HIV and Syphilis strategy 2018-2022, Integrated HIV guidelines addendum for the amendment of the HIV guidelines 2019 and an operational plan for eMTCT (2020-2022). The Ministry of Health engages communities to sensitize on PMTCT and community health care workers (RHMs and community mentor mothers) for follow-up and home visits of mother and lactating mothers in the community.
Para 65) In response to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on continuity of services, the Government has expanded its community service delivery to take HIV testing, prevention and treatment services (including ART drug distribution) to people through outreach programmes that rely on rural health motivators and HIV treatment adherence support initiatives. The effect of all these initiatives helped to maintain uninterrupted regimes and to connect with key and vulnerable populations.
Para 66) In 2019, Eswatini conducted a HIV Related Stigma, Discrimination and Human rights survey. The findings were that out of 1136 respondents, 10% experienced HIV related stigma and discrimination in a form of remarks and verbal harassment. The survey has informed the policy and program improvements to address the findings.
Para 67) In the 2018-2023 National Strategic Framework (NSF), social protection and the reduction of structural vulnerabilities including HIV related stigma, key population groups and discrimination form part of the strategic interventions in the implementation of the HIV response in the Kingdom. Further, Non- Government Organizations organise campaigns during events to sensitize the public on HIV related information.
Para 70) The Government is currently implementing SRHR – HIV knows No Borders targeting migrants to ensure their access to healthcare services. This programme further targets communities, religious sector, sex workers, AGYW and LGBTIQs.
Para 71) Eswatini received approximately US $146,580,000 in Overseas Development Assistance in 201720. The health sector has been the largest beneficiary of external assistance; the HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) epidemics have received a significant response from global development partners and donors. Despite economic challenges, the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini domestic expenditure in health has risen from $133,009,265 expended in 2017/2018 to the budgeted level of $146,433,314 in 2018/2019. The domestic expenditure on HIV has increased from $23,807,009 spent for the 2017/2018 financial year to $25,438,673 in 2018/2019. ARV purchasing expenses alone accounted for nearly $19,799,308 in expenditure in 2017/2018, and the budget for this increased to over $21,111,037 for 2018/2019.
Para 98) With regards to health care, inmates receive free medical treatment in the Correctional Centres’ clinics. These health care facilities are run by qualified nurses under the supervision of medical officers. The medical team renders comprehensive health care services that include amongst others; curative health services, HIV/AIDS management, tuberculosis management and do make referrals to other hospitals and specialists should there be a necessity.
Para 110) The Kingdom of Eswatini has achieved the 95-95-95 HIV global target set for 2030, which means that 95 % of people living with HIV know their status, 95% of people who know their status are accessing treatment and 95% of people on treatment have suppressed viral load. The success is attributed to the investment in HIV prevention and treatment interventions such as the provision of ART, TB-HIV Coinfection, Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision as well as preventive programmes targeting AGYW amongst others.
Para 111) The Government remains committed to finance HIV response to sustain this achievement and commends the support by the UN and partners including Global Fund, PEPFAR, World Bank and others for providing strategic guidance to the HIV response and ensuring that clear targets are set, shared and consistently monitored.

UN Compilation:
Para 10) While acknowledging the State’s efforts to promote and protect the life and health of persons living with HIV/AIDS, the HR Committee remained concerned at the continued high number of infections in Eswatini and the persistence of stigma and discrimination against such persons.
Para 40) The United Nations country office in Eswatini was concerned that Eswatini had one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the world, and that the country had a high incidence and prevalence of, and mortality from, tuberculosis. The United Nations country team noted that, further to the State’s commitment to end AIDS as a public health threat by the year 2022, Eswatini had made significant strides in dealing with HIV-related stigma and discrimination through plans and strategies, as revealed by the Stigma Index Survey conducted in 2019.
Para 61) … The country team was also concerned that adolescent girls continued to be disproportionately affected by HIV.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 13) UPRP-BCU and JS7 indicated that the stigma faced by people with HIV in Eswatini was widespread, particularly affecting women and girls, and that not enough awareness-raising on HIV and AIDS had been carried out. JS7 noted that the stigma attached to the HIV pandemic served as a barrier to HIV treatment and testing.
Para 38) Several stakeholders noted with concern that Eswatini had the highest rate of HIV across the world with more that 27% of adults living with HIV. They indicated that women were disproportionately affected by HIV epidemic. JS7 stated that Eswatini had experienced a growing number of cases of cervical cancer linked to the high rates of HIV prevalence. According to some stakeholders, the perception of women as subordinate to men and resulting gender inequality had increased the vulnerability of women to HIV.