Resource Type: Presentation
Authors: Zee Masuku
Published: 6/4/2015

Resource Description:

Nearly one in three Swazi girls experiences sexual violence before the age of 18 and one in four suffer physical violence, according to a 2007 UNICEF national study on violence against children in Swaziland.

To help these young victims, the Government of the Kingdom of Swaziland has taken strong steps to support them by providing not only counseling and health services, but also special child-friendly courts (CFCs) to make it easier for them to testify against their attackers. Through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the HFG project assisted with developing the country’s third CFC in Siteki, Lubombo, and training social workers to assist young victims.

Ms. Zee Catherine Masuku, MSW, HFG’s Regional Social Welfare Advisor in Swaziland, presented key findings and major lessons learned from this effort at The Network for Social Work Management’s 26th Annual Management Conference in Washington, DC, on June 4, 2015.

The Lubombo Child Friendly Court:A Pilot of Social Work Systems Strengthening in Swaziland