Economic abuse rising in weak economy

Swaziland's Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA) has reported a drop in the number of sexual and physical abuse cases over the past year, but says the rise in "economic" abuse is cause for concern. The NGO provides medical, legal and psychosocial counselling to victims of abuse, and since 1997 has kept data on the incidence of offences in the tiny country. In a report released on Wednesday, SWAGAA argued that the rise in economic abuse - mainly the withholding of money - had serious implications for the already weak economy. The group noted a sharp increase in the number of employers refusing to pay outstanding wages or benefits to retrenched workers. "Employees and their families cannot live without their wages, and it is cruel - particularly at the end of the month, after workers give their labour all month; an employer will suddenly shut down his business and move away or file for bankruptcy," said Janice Simelane, a social welfare worker in Manzini. According to SWAGAA director Nonhlanhla Dlamini, "That type of abuse was once more commonly associated with the informal sector - small unlicensed businesses would cheat workers - but this year we have had more businesses in the formal sector doing this." The concept of "abuse", previously understood as the maltreatment of women and children, has broadened. "When you go to parliament and into offices, people now have good things to say about fighting abuse. [Before,] men said we wanted to prevent them from disciplining their children," said SWAGAA chairwoman Faith Motsa. Swazi workers are refusing to go quietly and a fair number have sought legal advice from organisations such as SWAGAA, whose report noted the doubling and tripling of their caseloads each year since the group started recording data in 1997. They attributed this to an ongoing awareness campaign, better recourse by abuse victims to the police and courts, and a greater number of counsellors. "We still have recurring types of abuse: we are seeing women beaten up for negotiating condom use with their husbands and lovers; doctors write to us, worried that women patients who are taking ARVs (antiretrovirals) are not telling their partners they are HIV [positive] ... out of fear of being physically abused," said Dlamini. SWAGAA admitted that their efforts to combat abuse could be improved by working more closely with men in the community. Social welfare NGOs will be hosting workshops and conferences targeting men, and include them among the 360 community "child protectors" to be trained with government and UN Global Fund money this year.