SADC GENDER PROTOCOL BAROMETER BASELINE STUDY SEYCHELLES Women in textile industry Seychelles Photo: Loga Virasawmy B.Unusual Seychelles - By Loga (2) SUBMITTED BY: DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH AND CONSULTANCY SEYCHELLES JULY 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ACRONYMS _________________________________________________ 3 LIST of TABLES ______________________________________________________ 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ________________________________________________ 5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ______________________________________________ 7 SADC Gender Protocol Score Card for Seychelles _____________________ 9 COUNTRY CONTEXT_________________________________________________ 16 CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL RIGHTS Article 4-11 _________________ 20 Discriminatory legislation _______________________________________________ 23 Access to justice ________________________________________________________ 24 Marriage and family laws; widows and widowers; the girl and boy child __ 25 GOVERNANCE Article12-13 _________________________________________ 28 Gender and political parties _____________________________________________ 28 Gender in electoral processes____________________________________________ 30 Gender and voters_______________________________________________________ 31 Election outcomes_______________________________________________________ 31 Cabinet _________________________________________________________________ 33 The public service _______________________________________________________ 33 Participation ____________________________________________________________ 34 EDUCATION AND TRAINING (Article 14) ____________________________ 35 Enrolment and retention ________________________________________________ 36 Performance ____________________________________________________________ 39 Challenging stereotypes ___________________________ Error! 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Gender violence in schools ______________________________________________ 44 PRODUCTIVE RESOURCES AND EMPLOYMENT, ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT Article 15–19 ______________________________________ 45 Women and men in economic decision-making __________________________ 46 Gender budgeting _______________________________________________________ 47 Time use ________________________________________________________________ 48 Economic empowerment ________________________________________________ 48 Trade and entrepreneurship _____________________________________________ 48 Informal trade __________________________________________________________ 48 2 Procurement ____________________________________________________________ 49 Property and resources__________________________________________________ 50 Gender and land ownership______________________________________________ 50 Employment ____________________________________________________________ 50 Skills development policies and programmes ____________________________ 53 Financial Institutions____________________________________________________ 53 GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE Article 20-25 ____________________________ 54 Extent of Gender-based violence ________________________________________ 54 Response and support ___________________________________________________ 54 Prevention ______________________________________________________________ 61 Integrated approaches __________________________________________________ 61 Budgetary allocations ___________________________________________________ 62 HEALTH, HIV AND AIDS Article 26-27 ______________________________ 63 General _________________________________________________________________ 64 Family Planning / contraceptive usage___________________________________ 64 HIV and AIDS Article 27 ____________________________________________ 66 General _________________________________________________________________ 66 Prevention ______________________________________________________________ 67 PMTCT __________________________________________________________________ 67 Treatment_______________________________________________________________ 68 IMPLEMENTATION Article 32 -36__________________________________ 69 Signing__________________________________________________________________ 72 Ratification _____________________________________________________________ 72 CONCLUSIONS______________________________________________________ 73 ANNEX A: LIST OF DOCUMENTS ACCESSED AND SUBMITTED ________ 74 ANNEX B: LIST OF INTERVIEWS ____________________________________ 75 References _________________________________________________________ 77 LIST OF ACRONYMS ANC Anti Natal Clinic 3 ARH Adolescent Reproductive Health ARV Anti-Retroviral AU African Union CEO Chief Executive Officer CPR Contraceptive Prevalence Rate DBS Development Bank of Seychelles DIFD Department for International Development DP Democratic Party DPA Department of Public Administration EMB Election Management body EU European Union FGM Female Genital Mutilation FPTP First Past the Post GAT Gender Action Team GBV Gender-based violence HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome KAP Knowledge, Attitude and Practice MISD Management & Information Systems Division MoHSD Ministry of Health and Social Development MTC Maritime Training Centre NIE National Institute of Education NIHSS National Institute of Health Social Studies NSB National Statistics Bureau PMTC Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission PR Proportionate Representation PSE Personal and Social Education SACMEQ Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality SADC Southern African Development Community SAHTC Seychelles Agricultural and Horticultural Training Centre SALS School of A level Studies SAWOP Seychelles Association of Women Professional SEnPA Small Enterprise Promotion Agency SIT Seychelles Institute of Technology SNP Seychelles National Party SPPF Seychelles People’s Progressive Party STDs Sexually Transmitted Diseases STIs Sexually Transmitted Infections ToP Termination of Pregnancy UNDP United Nations Development Programme LIST of TABLES Table one: SADC Gender Protocol Score Card for Seychelles 4 Table two: Analysis of gender equality clauses in the Constitution Table three: Remaining discriminatory legislation Table four: Access to justice Table five: Marriage and family laws; the boy and girl child Table six: Representation of women and men in key party structures Table seven: Gender in political party manifestos Table eight: Women and men registered to vote Table nine: Candidates fielded at national level Table ten: Candidates fielded at local level Table 11: Election results national Table 12: Election results local Table 13: Women and men in cabinet Table 14: Women and men in the public service Table 15: Enhancing participation by women in public life Table 16: Access and enrolment in education sector / specify the year Table 17: Pass rates Table 18: Gender disaggregated data on school administration Table 19: Women and men in university faculties Table 20: Women and men in economic decision-making Table 21: Private sector and parastatal leadership Table 22: Women ownership of different land types Table 23: Women and men in employment Table 24: Employment levels of women and men across key occupations Table 25: Conditions of employment Table 26: Gender violence statistics Table 27: GBV response and support Table 28: Key sexual, reproductive and health indicators Table 29: Key Gender, HIV and AIDS indicators Table 30: National gender machinery and processes ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 5 This report is part of a regional baseline study for the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development being conducted by the Southern African Gender Protocol Alliance. The report was prepared by Michel Rosalie of Development Research and Consultancy Seychelles with assistance from Daniel Séraphine, Albert Duncan, Sébastien Pillay, Sarah Romain and Janick Brû-Rosalie. Gender Links, which coordinates the work of the Alliance, edited the final report. The baseline study and report have been funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) of the UK government. SADC Summit Alliance Meeting Speaker Photo: Gender Links SADC Summit6 Alliance Meeting Speaker 2 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In August 2008, Heads of State of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) signed a Protocol on Gender and Development with 28 targets for achieving gender equality by 2015. Seychelles is signatory to the Protocol. The purpose of this research commissioned by the Southern African Gender Protocol Alliance (of Gender Links) was to collect baseline data across the articles included in the SADC Protocol - relating to Constitutional and Legal Rights, Governance (Representation and Participation), Education and Training, Productive Resources and Employment, Economic Empowerment, Gender-based violence, Health, HIV and AIDS and Implementation - in order to compile the first SADC Gender Protocol Barometer which will be launched at the August 2009 Heads of State Summit. The field work for this research was carried out during June 2009. This involved collecting and analysing secondary data (both quantitative and qualitative) on the social, economic and political spheres in the country. Interviews with strategic stakeholders from State and non-state organisations were held to substantiate the documentary analysis. The findings of the research show that there is no formal discrimination against women in the public sphere in Seychelles. The laws that exist, including the Constitution, ensure that males and females receive the same treatment in all spheres of public life. There is one known exception to