The alleged rape of a
two-year-old child in Swaziland / eSwatini has been covered up by her family
because Swazi culture does not permit it to be reported to authorities. It is
another example of how culture allows adults to mistreat children, often
violently.
The Swazi
News reported on Saturday (12 January 2019) that the child had allegedly
been raped by her grandfather but had been denied justice in the name of tibi tendlu which it said meant ‘sweeping
matters under the carpet’.
The newspaper gave details
of the rape allegation and added, ‘According to a source close to the minor,
some family members have been threatened with death if they reported the matter
which occurred in March last year.’
In 2017 a
report from the University of Edinburgh, backed by the global
children’s organisation UNICEF, said that children in Swaziland were subjected to
extreme violence, often in their homes. It highlighted the place of tibi tendlu in covering up family
secrets.
It reported, ‘The widely accepted notion of keeping
family matters private to protect the family or community over the individual
was repeatedly cited as a driver of violence and was also found to be a factor
dissuading individuals from intervening when they suspect a child is abused.’
It added cultural norms
prevented children from telling anyone about the violence they experience; kept
community and family members from intervening when they saw a child being
harmed; presented community and institutional barriers to professionals and
others such as teachers seeking to help the child and gave the perpetrator a
sense of impunity – such that they could
continue abusing children without consequences.
Data from Swaziland
suggested violent discipline in the home, which included physical
punishment and psychological aggression, affected more than 88 percent of all
children. The study findings also revealed that sexual violence and bullying
affected 38 percent and 32 percent of children in Swaziland, respectively. The
study found that children experiencing one type of violence were more likely to
experience other types of violence. For every girl child known to Social
Welfare as having experienced sexual violence, there were an estimated 400
girls who had never received help or assistance for sexual violence.
See also
Research
in Swaziland suggests spanking children is harmful and can cause mental
problems
Child’s
rights abused in Swaziland
Sick
kids ‘hidden to save image of kingdom’
Kids
forced to weed King’s fields
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