Mbabane – The Royal Eswatini Police Service is promoting awareness against domestic violence and calling for vigilance, stating that this is one of the reasons it almost posts daily reports of missing people on social media.
Inspector Zwakele Dlamini from the Domestic Violence, Child Protection, and Sexual Offences (DCS) Unit says most reports of missing persons involve children and when they are asked reasons for missing they say they are running away from abuse at home.
He was speaking at Eswatini TV’s Kusile breakfast show, where he mentioned that there are incidences of peer pressure among children below the age of 16 and that many children also experience neglect. 
Dlamini said while they always act on the strength of the law to avert all crimes, parents ought to pay extra vigilance and be aware of their children’s home-to-school-to-home schedule so that they can quickly pick up disruptive behaviour and suspicious activities.
Acting in those moments, he said, could prevent child kidnapping and human trafficking.
“When a child is taken from home without consent,” he said, “they can sometimes find themselves in difficult situations and, in other instances, in other countries, lured by fake promises.
“We can advise parents: do not wait when you are suspecting that your child is missing. Report it urgently. It is the police protocol to take those reports seriously.”
Dlamini said sexual abuse and domestic violence are among the most reported crimes in the country, stating that statistics indicate that most crime hotspots are homesteads.
He said this pattern cannot be taken lightly, urging community interventions and not to look away.
Dlamini advised that an undisclosed number of children find themselves involved in cases of abuse and that they are usually violated by people they know and trust, prompting some to contemplate suicide or to run away from home.
He also stated that, in addition to children, domestic violence has been linked to reports of women who choose to leave, contributing to the tally of missing persons.
