Rise & Thrive

Our final guest is Senele Mdluli, psychologist and chairperson of the Eswatini Psychology Association. Senele discusses creating safe spaces for survivors to speak out, both personally and in communities. She answers online survivor questions, offering practical advice for navigating disclosure at various life stages. Senele concludes by sharing local resources and urging empathy, reminding us, “there are no perfect victims.”

This is a two-part episode, featuring Mhlengi Dlamini, counsellor from Survivor Eswatini an NGO that supports male and female survivors of sexual violence. In the second part of the episode, we speak to a survivor of abuse who shares how their experience shaped their life and self-image.

Our guest on this episode is a musician and board member of the Eswatini National Youth Council, Nomalungelo Dladla. Nomalungelo identifies issues around the objectification of women and the lack of safety in the music industry. She also offers potential solutions that can help create a conducive environment for women to speak out.

The series begins with remarks from EU Ambassador to Eswatini, Karsten Mecklenburg, on the EU’s commitment to addressing gender-based violence. The episode features Katrin Lehmann-Kunene, co-founder of Phumelela, who discusses the current state of gender-based violence in Eswatini. Katrin highlights Phumelela’s holistic, survivor-centered approach to spreading awareness and empowering communities to create safe spaces for open dialogue and support.