The Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act, No. 15 of 2018, (called ‘the SODV Act’ and ‘the Act’ in this booklet) became a law in Eswatini in June 2018. The Act changes some of the definitions of sexual crimes and creates new crimes.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is an international treaty on the rights of women and girls. The Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini is a signatory to CEDAW. The SODV Act plays an important role in domesticating the provisions in CEDAW relating to gender-based violence.