Source: National AIDS Council Seychelles (2016).

Table 2 Persons who assaulted respondents

Persons	Frequency	%
Boyfriend/Husband Steady	20	34.5
Client (One-Time or Regular)	9	15.5
Police	8	13.8
Unknown person	8	13.8
Family Member	6	10.3
Casual Sex Partner	6	10.3
Friend	6	10.3
Children’s father	2	3.4
Co-worker	1	1.7
Sex Workers	1	1.7

Source: National AIDS Council Seychelles (2016).

16.For Female Sex Workers who had been forced to have sex against their will, the most common perpetrators were one-time clients (9 or 28.1%), unknown persons (5 or 15.6%) and the steady partner or husband (4 or 12.5%). Other people included friends, casual sex partners and the children’s father (Table 3).

Table 3 Persons who forced respondents to have sex

Persons	Frequency	%
Client (One-Time or Regular)	9	28.1
Unknown person	5	15.6
Boyfriend/Husband Steady	4	12.5
Friend	4	12.5
Casual Sex Partner	3	9.4
Children’s father	2	6.3
Neighbour	1	3.1

Source: National AIDS Council Seychelles (2016).

17.In terms of arrests of Female Sex Workers by the police, the main reasons were loitering (25 or 16.0%), drug use (20 or 11.5%) and selling sex (11 or 7.1%). Table 4 shows the wide variety of reasons for arrests by the police.

Table 4 Reasons for arrests

Causes for arrest	Frequency	Per cent
Loitering	25	16.0
Drug use	20	11.5
Selling sex	11	7.1
Theft	9	5.8
Aggravated assault	6	3.8
Unpaid maintenance	3	1.9
Drinking alcohol public	2	1.3
A misunderstanding	2	1.3
Tribunal order	1	0.6
Personal	1	0.6
Total	155	99.4

Source: National AIDS Council Seychelles (2016).

18.As a result of these situations, in May 2017, the Ministry of Health, through the National AIDS Control Programme, working in collaboration with the National AIDS Council (NAC) have developed an Operational Plan to address these. The Operational Plan has been funded by the WHO. The local Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) such as the newly formed Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Intersex Seychelles (LGBTI-Sey) and the more established HIV and AIDS Support Organisation (HASO) have also mobilised with the help of the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA). The two NGOs are conducting a series of advocacy workshops with parliamentarians and service providers to explore their own attitudes and behaviours to eliminate stigma and discrimination and take appropriate remedial actions.

19.ARASA with the National AIDS Council Seychelles organised a two-day national advocacy convening in October 2017 to discuss and plan advocacy measures to address stigma, discrimination and violence against key populations which include Female Sex Workers, prison inmates, Men who have Sex with Men, People Living with HIV, prison inmates amongst others.

Article 3: Advancement of Women

20.No updates available.

Article 4: Acceleration of Equality between Men and Women

21.There is growing concern that there are persisting gaps in specific areas such as political participation, decision making positions and job stereotyping. There were national consultations held on Women’s Day in 2017, upon recommendation of the President of Seychelles. The consultations led a number of recommendations which were further discussed in a Cabinet meeting. The list of issues, which includes the need for improved data collection, collation and sharing between partners, the building of a shelter for women who are experiencing domestic violence and legislative reforms to strengthen the rights of women, is in Annex 5.

Article 5: Sex Role Stereotyping and Prejudice

22.The national media houses in recent times have presented diverse views and narratives on sex and gender roles, focusing on stereotyping for relationships and more specifically on employment. Women have been shown to be working in aviation as pilots, in construction, on oil tankers and as bus conductors.

23.The recent creation of the NGO, LGBTI-Sey in 2016, has also helped to focus the discussion on the human rights of men and women with diverse sexualities, and on sexual minorities. With more awareness thus created, social media monitoring by the Gender Secretariat indicates that people may be changing their attitudes, albeit slowly. Efforts have continued to present these issues more often on mass media, through documentaries, live discussion programmes and forums. There is still some resistance to accept the changing social and sex roles and diverse sexual minorities, especially in interpersonal interactions and on social media.

Article 6: Exploitation of Women in Prostitution

24.A number of studies have been conducted on sex work since the last report. They include the following:

•A survey with sex workers, both male and female, conducted by the Drug and Alcohol Council (DAC) in 2010, where 33 persons were interviewed. Of those, 27 were females and 6 were males who were street-based sex workers. They reported stigma, discrimination and violence, high incomes, long hours of work and most (97%) were heroin dependent;

•An ethnographical study conducted by Dr. Michel Rosalie on behalf of the Social Development Department. Interviews were done with service providers as key informants and 13 sex workers, both male and female;

•The SADC IBBS on Female Sex Workers in 2015 which indicated that the population of street-based FSW on the main island of Mahé was 586. The profile of a sex worker was of a young woman (of whom 13 were minors, aged 15 to 17 years) with children (78%), who dropped out of school (74%), who likely had been sexually abused as a child (24%) and was a current drug user (87%) and some were injecting heroin (40%).

25.An Operational Plan has been developed for FSW with the financial assistance of WHO in May 2017. The Plan covers creating a supportive environment for improved access to services, a comprehensive package of services, evidence-based approach and a human right approach to programmes.

Part II

Article 7: Political and Public Life

26.A number of Government ministries (Ministry of Family Affairs) and civil society organisations (Alliance of Solidarity for the Family — ASFF; Women in Action and Solidarity Organisation — WASO; Gender and Media Plus — GemPlus; and MPower) are responsible to ensure that women and girls are able to advance in terms of socioeconomic development, such as in the judiciary, agriculture, and banking and in senior administrative positions.

27.These posts are now occupied by women: the Chief Justice, a Judge of the Court of Appeal, the Ambassador for Women and Children and the Governor of the Central Bank.

28.The Agricultural sector has also been active through the Competitive Local Innovations for Small-Scale Agriculture Project (CLISSA) which has launched a series of projects on backyard gardening to improve food and nutrition security in the family and ultimately, in Seychelles as a whole. These projects have been mostly done by women and girls.

29.Records from January 2013 to December 2016 show that to date 21 females and 10 males have been appointed as District Administrators. A number of programmes have been developed to help women and their children benefit from the opportunities available in their districts (Annex 3).

Cabinet of Ministers

30.The number of women in the Cabinet of Ministers has remained unchanged at 3 from January 2013 to December 2016, representing 27%. However, there was a slight increase in the percentage overall in 2014 when there were 30% of female ministers, due to a reduction in the number of ministers (Table 5).

Table 5 Number of Ministers from January 2013 to October 2017

Year	Female	Male	Total	% of women
2013 as at January	3	8	11	27%
2014 as at December	3	7	10	30%
2015 as at December	3	8	11	27%
2016 as at December	3	8	11	27%
2017 as at October*	5	7	12	42%

Source: Cabinet Secretariat, President’s Office (2017).

*Updated by the Family Affairs Department (2017).

31.In 2017, there are now 5 female ministers out of a total of 12, representing a proportion of 42% (Table 5 & 6). The Designated Minister for the first time in history is female. The highest proportion of women is found in school and district administration (74%). The first female Chief Justice was appointed in August 2015.

Table 6 Female and male representation in key government/parastatals posts

Post title	Female	Male	Total	% of women
Minister	5	7	12	42%
Principal Secretary	17	17	34	50%
Special Adviser	5	12	17	29%
Member of National Assembly	7	26	33	21%
Director	72	53	125	58%
Director General	24	10	34	71%
District Administrator	20	7	27	74%
Judge	3	8	11	27%
Chief Justice	1	0	1	100%
Magistrate	3	3	6	50%
Central Bank Governor	1	0	1	100%
Ambassador	5	9	14	36%
Chief Executive Officer	21	42	63	33%

Source: Family Affairs Department (2017).

32.Since 1993, legislative power is vested in a unicameral parliament, named the National Assembly. There is a mixed system of elections where 25 parliamentarians, equal to the current number of electoral areas, are elected in first-past-the-post single member constituency elections and 9 more members are elected by proportional representation. Each party is allocated 1 seat for every 10% of the popular votes obtained in elections. The term of office of the National Assembly is five years.

33.It should be noted that eventually there will be a new electoral area which was created in 2016 through a possible amendment of the Election Act, namely Perseverance District which may have an elected Member of Parliament at the next Legislative Election.

34.Table 7 shows the number of women who have been elected to the National Assembly since 2009. Figures in brackets show the number of women/men who have been nominated proportionately by their parties based on election results.

Table 7 Number and proportion of male and female representatives in parliament, 2009 to 2017

Assembly Terms	No of Women	No of Men	Total	% Women
2007 – 2011	8 (4)	26 (5)	34	23.5%
2011 – 2016	14 (3)	18 (4)	32	43.75%
2016 to date	7 (3)	26 (5)	33	21.21%

Source: National Assembly (2017).

35.The percentage of women in the National Assembly has fluctuated between 23.5% and 43.8% over the last 23 years. The number of female parliamentarians peaked to 43.8% in 2011. These percentages compared favourably with other countries in the region. Seychelles was ranked 4th in the world from 2011 to 2016 for its women representation in Parliament. This result was achieved without a quota system. However, it should be noted that only two political parties took part in that election, excluding the main opposition party. Currently, the proportion in the National Assembly of Seychelles has been reduced to 21% as a result of the last legislative elections held in September 2016.

36.Women are active in politics at grassroots level and in the labour market. However, their increased penetration in the labour market and politics at all echelons is still a challenge; for example, for women to participate in the National Assembly as directly elected members, their party must nominate them. At the present time, relatively few women are included on party lists and there has been only one independent woman candidate standing in presidential elections since 1993.

37.In the last elections held in 2016, more female candidates stood for elections from 3 political parties and three Parti Lepep candidates were elected and only one LDS candidate made it first past the post.

38.The post of Speaker and Deputy Speaker are elected by the National Assembly Members in accordance with the Standing Orders and have to date been held by men. The post of Leader of Government Business (from the leading political party Parti Lepep) not a constitutional post, has been held by two women from 2007 to 2015.

39.The Constitution of the Seychelles (1993) makes no provision for quotas or reserved places to advance the representation of women in the national assembly or publicly elected bodies. None of the political parties interviewed have adopted voluntary quotas to increase the representation of women in parliament or spoken in favour of the quota system. ‘A political party’s goal is to win elections and it will field its best candidates, be they men or women’ is the comment made by one representative. The fielding of male candidates in preference to females assumes that men make the best candidates.

40.The practice of proportionate nomination of members has been used by both political parties especially the ruling party to increase women representation in the Assembly. In this manner, the ruling party, Parti Lepep has maintained a 30% representation of women in the assembly. More men than women (Table 5) are nominated by both parties.

41.There has been no research undertaken by government, political parties or NGOs to determine structural barriers to women’s greater participation as parliamentarians. Anecdotal reports include reasons given as family commitments, heavy demands on time, personal sacrifices, and lack of confidence to engage in competitive elections.

42.An Action Group of Women Parliamentarians was set up in 2000 to act as a support group and mentors for young women who aspire to become involved in politics and decision making. A series of workshops and sensitization sessions were carried out. The Action group is currently registered as an association under the Gender Commission of the Citizens Engagement Platform of Seychelles (CEPS) but has been relatively inactive for the last few years.

43.The National Assembly has a Committee on Women Parliamentarians which advocates for issues affecting women and children in Seychelles, regionally and internationally. The Ambassador for Women and Children advocates and lobbies nationally and internationally for women and children issues.

Activities for elderly women

44.Senior citizens clubs in all districts are open to all individuals aged 55 years and above. The clubs propose a variety of educational, cultural and leisure activities for active and healthy lifestyles. During these past four years, the Association of Senior Citizens of Seychelles has mobilised a number of elderly encouraging them to participate in activities relates to the Creole Festival, the Carnival de Victoria, Journée de la Francophonie, World Environment Day, Christmas Day and National Day festivities.

45.In these aforementioned activities, the elderly women were selling arts and craft that they have made themselves, parading in customised costumes, performing songs, poems and storytelling and plays. Many have also engaged in exchanges with elderly from Normandy, France, Reunion, and Mauritius amongst others.

46.The Association of Senior Citizens, chaired by a woman, was set up to represent, defend and protect senior citizens clubs and its members, to work in close collaboration with other agencies for the wellbeing of senior citizens, and to affiliate with local regional and international organizations pursuing similar objectives. Senior citizens also participate in district intergenerational activities with Young Citizens, the Seychelles Scouts Association, the Neighbourhood Recreational Activities (NRA), and district-based holiday programmes, focusing on the traditional Seychellois culture] to promote moral values and transmit cultural values to the younger generation.

47.Women make up the majority of members. Thus far, there are over 1000 female members registered in senior citizens clubs as opposed only 200 or so men.

Women in the family

48.In March 2017, the Ministry of Family Affairs was created to support families and strengthen actions undertaken to help families improve interpersonal relationships for a stronger societal foundation.

49.The National Family Council is an association created under the auspices of the Ministry of Local Government since 2008. During the past three years, considerable effort has been dedicated towards the organisation of activities that empowered women with spiritual values and life skills. The Council collaborated with other organisation to organise a national women’s award ceremony. The situation of women and young girls are a concern for the Council and are from this, the district clubs have connected with women in their communities through door to door visits, birthday clubs and parenting sessions.

50.The Citizens Engagement Platform of Seychelles in its Consultative Paper on Women’s Issues released on the occasion of the International Women’s Day 2017 noted that: There is an uneven picture of gender parity for political and administrative institutions in Seychelles, such as the National Assembly, the Cabinet of Ministers, the district administrators and the executives of parastatal companies. Whilst women account for more than 60% of the workforce on average in the public sector, the highest proportion of women in administrative and leadership roles is in the district and school administration. The proportion of women in parliament has dropped from 44% in the previous period of 2011 to 2016 to 21% in the present period of 2017 onwards.

Article 8: Representation

51.No updates available.

Article 9: Nationality

52. There have been discussions to change the Civil Code to allow spouses of Seychelles citizens and the children of such couples to obtain citizenship.

Part III

Article10: Education

53.The Right to Education for every citizen is guaranteed under Article 3 of the Constitution. The Education Act 2004 lays down procedures for the management of schools and educational establishments in line with the set educational goals and objectives. However, there are still policies and practices in various educational institutions that create barriers for women and girls. The Seychelles Tourism Academy is still insisting on female students wearing high heel shoes as part of their uniform and pregnant students are not allowed to go to the podium or the central stage to collect their certificate like the others during the graduation ceremony. These discriminatory practices have been highlighted and discussed a number of times with the relevant authorities but to date, the matter remains unresolved.

54.Female students with behavioural problems as well as their male counterparts are still being denied their right to education due to the absence of educational facilities for such students. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has funded the building of a juvenile centre on one of the inner islands (Praslin), but the facilities have been used for drug detoxification and rehabilitation of drug users. Moreover, the facilities would have been used for children in conflict with the law and not necessarily to house and treat students with school behavioural problems.

55.The University of Seychelles (UniSey) was set up in September 2009. In 2016, 998 learners enrolled in 39 different programmes in, 46 learners more than in 2015 (952). It comprised of a total of 762 (more than 75%) females and 236 (24%) males.

56.Equality of access to education has been achieved. The government’s policy of “free and compulsory education for all” has ensured that both girls and boys from ages 3+ to 16+ have access to primary and secondary schooling and nearly 100 percent of children in this age group attend school. At the tertiary non-university education and training and tertiary university education and training, girls continue to be equally well represented as is shown in Table 8. From then onwards, there are more girls than boys attending tertiary non-university education and training institutions.

Table 8Enrolment in both State and Private Schools, by School Level, Year and Sex

No. of Females	No. of Males
	2014	2015	2016	2014	2015	2016
Primary	4 369	4 453	4 469	4 443	4 521	4 538
Percentages (%)	49.58%	49.62%	49.62%	50.42%	50.38%	50.38%
Secondary	3 436	3 474	3 568	3 422	3 478	3 426
Percentages (%)	50.10%	49.97%	51.02%	49.90%	50.03%	48.98%
Upper Secondary 1	–	270	258	–	172	171
Percentages (%)	–	61.09%	60.14%	–	38.91%	39.86%
Tertiary Non-University Education and Training (Professional Centres) 2	1 436	1 078	888	1 052	898	807
Percentages (%)	57.72%	54.55%	52.39%	42.28%	45.45%	47.61%

Source: EMIS Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development 2017.

1Was reported A Level Studies prior to 2015

2Was reported as Post-Secondary Education prior to 2015

Figure 1Total Number of Students Enrolled in UniSey by Year Level and by Gender, 2016

Table 9Ratio of Girls to Boys in Education Institutions

Primary*(excluding crèche)Secondary

Year	M	F	M/F	M	F	M/F
2014	4 443	4 369	1.02:1	3 422	3 436	1:1
2015	4 521	4 453	1.02:1	3 478	3 474	1:1
2016	4 538	4 469	1.02:1	3 426	3 568	0.96:1

Source: EMIS, Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development 2017.

Access to vocational education (Professional Centres)

57.Tertiary university education in Seychelles includes academic and advanced vocational or professional. Although more girls are enrolled in post-secondary training institutions, they remain traditionally clustered in schools such as, the Seychelles Tourism Academy, the National Institute of Health and Social Studies, the Seychelles Business Studies Academy and The Seychelles Institute of Teacher Education.

Seychelles Institute of Technology (SIT)

58.Positive changes, however, have been noted in the enrolment figures for the Seychelles Institute of Technology, where enrolment of boys dominated. The percentage of females rose by 39% from 2014 to 2016. However, when the enrolment figures between males and females are compared, the gap remains significant (percentage of females to males); 10% in 2014 to 15% in 2016.

59.Girls who have opted for courses in building, construction or engineering have fewer employment opportunities. According to the head of the Institute, engineering and construction organisations in general have been reluctant to employ girls because they have to provide extra facilities, e.g., restrooms, on construction sites and consider women to be disruptive for male workers. One initiative has been for the Institute itself to recruit some of its graduates from the construction, telecommunications, painting and plumbing courses to become teachers at the school. Some of the girls are now degree holders and good role models for the school.

Seychelles Institute of Maritime Studies

60.The percentage of females enrolled in maritime studies as compared to males has decreased from 39% in 2014 to 25% in 2016, whilst at the same time the enrolment figure remains the same for males. According to records, the increase in females’ enrolment figures over the years from 2009 to 2016 is the result of a review of the course content which provides more opportunities for girls to take up careers as marine park rangers, marine biologists and divers. There were more girls on the advanced courses in navigation and fisheries as girls were also finding job opportunities on leisure boats and yachts. The prizes for best performer on the Navigation and Seamanship course and the fisheries course in 2009 were won by women.

Seychelles Institute of Agriculture and Horticulture (SIAH)

61.From 2014 to 2016, there has been a decline in enrolment figures for both sexes at the Seychelles Institute of Agriculture and Horticulture (SIAH), formerly known as the Seychelles Agriculture and Horticulture Training Centre. Although Agriculture has had a higher enrolment rate for girls in the past years, there are no records of the number of girls who find employment in agriculture or remain in the field. The absence of sex disaggregated data in the agricultural sector makes it difficult to measure the contribution of women.

Access to careers guidance and counselling

62.Considerable efforts have been made in the Seychelles secondary schools to enhance careers guidance provisions. Since 2015, the unit has been upgraded to become a section in the Education Student Support Services (ESSS) under the Schools Division, with its own Director. The Careers Section in the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development works in collaboration with Centre for Curriculum, Assessment and Teacher Support (CCATS) in developing, implementing and monitoring CEG programmes in schools. The unit also provides professional leadership and pedagogical support to schools and assists them in their effort to provide an effective careers guidance service to students.

63.Careers education is one of the four strands of the Personal and Social Education (PSE) Programme launched in schools since 1998. Age related information on careers and life skills is provided to all age groups. From 1999, a forty-minute period was allocated specifically for Careers Guidance at Secondary four and five. The PSE in the Seychelles National Curriculum, describes CEG as a developmental process which should assist individuals to play an active role in the development of their own potential, based upon their interest, aptitudes and ability while keeping in view the available opportunities and human resource needs and priorities. It has a central role in preparing young people for adult life. An effective careers education and guidance programme should be based on self-evaluation, widening horizons, making choices and managing transitions.

64.Trained CEG teachers take regular classes, as well as conducting interviews with students and parents. The section works closely with the schools to ensure that students are provided with an effective programme and have access to relevant careers information. The section also coordinates most of the activities for the transition of Secondary Students (SS) to Post-Secondary Institutions (PSI), now referred to as Professional Centres (PCs). Some of the activities are: information talks by Professional Centres to secondary students; open days at PCs and SS; course interviews; work experience and work attachment for some students; assisting schools with their careers interventions and advising students, parents and school leavers upon request.

65.For the past fifteen years, annual Careers Weeks organized jointly with the National Human Resources Development Council (NHRDC), formally known Agency National Human Resource Development (ANHRD) has been one of the main activities on the section’s calendar. It aimed at helping students make informed career decisions and strengthening the links between educational institutions and work organizations and other agencies (private and public sector). Organised under different themes such as “Value all jobs: meeting the manpower needs of the country”. The annual Careers Weeks provide information on job opportunities in unbiased ways.

Access to the same curricular, same examinations, teaching staff with same qualifications and school premises and equipment of the same quality

66.All schools in Seychelles (State and private) from day care centres to post-secondary, now referred to as Professional Centres (PCs)/tertiary level are co‑educational and teaching is routinely delivered in mixed classes. The practice of streaming by ability resulted in some top ability classes being heavily dominated by girls in secondary schools. This practice has been abolished since 2006 and all schools are encouraged to organise gender balanced classrooms. The principles of equality and equity are fundamental guidance in the Education Policy Statement.

67.Since July 2013, a new National Curriculum Framework was launched, as well as a first ever National Assessment Framework. The new National Curriculum Framework (the revised 2001 Framework) makes provision for nine learning areas and nine essential competencies. Since 2015, SELF has been introduced at Key Stage 1 (Early Childhood) from Crèche Year 1 to P2 with six learning areas.

68.In terms of curriculum review, Centre for Curriculum Assessment and Teacher Support (CCATS) has adopted the thematic and integrated approaches at Key Stage 1 for developing instructional materials. As a major shift, since 2015 CCATS has embarked in a gradual process to move from Content-Based Curriculum to Competency-Based Curriculum, for Key Stage 2 (P3-P4), in collaboration with the teachers, with the support of UNESCO and partners.

69.The responsibility for implementing curriculum materials according to the needs of their pupils rests with schools. Schools are encouraged to ensure that curriculum materials developed at school level reflect the interests, experiences, and learning styles of both girls and boys and are age appropriate.

70.Two units in the teacher training programme at the Seychelles Institute of Teacher Education (SITE) “Human Rights Education” and “Gender and Adolescent Reproductive Health Education” address gender. However, gender is not effectively mainstreamed in all teacher teaching programmes.

71.Girls outperform boys at school at both primary and secondary levels. The 2016 Primary 6 National Examinations results continue to show the trend of girls outperforming boys in all six subjects with a difference in mean mark ranging from 8% in maths to 13% and 14% in English and French respectively. Moreover, girls outperform boys in all subjects including maths and sciences. Past researches of the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Education Quality (SACMEQ) has shown that while girls scored significantly better than boys in reading in a number of countries besides Seychelles, such as Botswana, South Africa and Mauritius; Seychelles was the only country where girls scored significantly higher than boys in mathematics. The last SACMEQ IV results are still to be examined to determine whether there has been a more positive change in pattern.

72.This pattern is repeated at the secondary level. Girls record higher rates of participation than boys in Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) 2016 in all subjects except for Physics, as illustrated Table 10. Girls also recorded slightly better results (principal passes A to C) in 6 subjects as compared to 4 for boys.

Table 10Results in IGCSE 2016 by subject and gender

		IGCSE 2016
		A-C		D-G		Participation rate
Subject	Entries	Female	Male	Mean (F&M)	Female	Male	Mean (F&M)	Female	Male	Mean (F&M)
Art & Design	89	20	24	21	80	76	79	10	5	7
Biology	201	43	45	43	55	55	55	25	8	17
Chemistry	128	42	30	38	58	70	63	13	9	11
Combined Science	40	9	0	5	91	94	93	4	3	3
English	694	44	43	43	53	53	53	71	44	58
Geography	246	33	27	30	64	70	67	24	17	21
History	64	29	15	27	71	85	73	8	2	5
ICT	169	34	46	39	59	42	52	16	12	14
Mathematics	345	31	37	33	67	61	65	36	22	29
Physics	133	42	39	41	58	61	59	10	12	11

Source: EMIS, Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development 2017.

Staff Profile and Training

73.The table below shows the number of teachers by sex and nationality in state schools in 2016. The composition and profile of the teaching staff has changed very little over the years as school population rates have remained fairly stable. Crèche teachers are 100% female. The percentage of women between 2010 and 2016 at primary level has fluctuated between 84% and 88%, whereas at the secondary level, it fluctuated between 57% and 61%. At the post-secondary level, formally Professional Centres since 2015, the percentage of women has ranged from 35% to 48% between 2010 and 2016. Efforts at encouraging more male teachers to join early childhood teaching have been largely unsuccessful.

Table 11Number of teachers by gender and nationality in state schools in 2016

	Local		Expatriate		Total both sexes
Level	Female	Male	Total	Female	Male	Total	Female	Male	Total
Crèche	158	0	158	0	0	0	158	0	158
Primary	483	66	549	1	0	1	484	66	550
Special Education	20	2	22	0	0	0	20	2	22
Secondary(S1-S5)	230	124	354	80	71	151	310	195	505
Upper Secondary (A Level)	11	4	15	6	9	15	17	13	30
Professional Centres	67	56	123	10	29	39	77	85	162
Total	969	252	1221	97	109	206	1066	361	1427

Source: EMIS, Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development 2017.

74.The student/teacher ratio has also remained fairly constant for the last four years at each level respectively, as illustrated in the table below.

Table 12Student/Teacher Ratio from 2013 to 2016

Level	2013	2014	2015	2016
Pre-Primary (Crèche)	18.1	19.1	19.1	18.1
Primary	18.1	14.1	14.1	15.1
Secondary	13.1	13.1	13.1	13.1
Upper Secondary (A Level)			11.1	9.1
Professional Centre	12.1	13.1	12.1	10.1
Special Education	3.1	3.1	4.1	3.1

Source: EMIS, Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development 2017.

75.Although the teaching profession is largely feminised, especially at the lower levels, stereotypical male oriented subjects are still apparent at secondary level. In 2016, while 87% of the English teachers, 94% of French teachers, Religion 88% and 97% of PSE teachers are females, women account for only 42% of Maths, 48% for Science, 22% for Physical Education, 30% for the Arts and 45% for Information Technology teachers.

76.The Table below shows the number of teachers by qualifications and level. Approximately 90% of teachers have teacher training qualifications and 28% are trained to degree level and above. The majority of the untrained teachers are at crèche and primary level. In spite of the heavy investment there are acute shortages of teachers especially at the secondary level. Thirty percent of staff at this level are expatriates. Government has recently reviewed the Teachers’ Scheme of Service to make it more attractive for teachers and to retain staff.

Table 13Qualification of teaching staff by Level and by Gender in state educational institutions, 2016

	Crèche		Primary		Special needs		Secondary		Upper secondary		Professional centers
Qualifications	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
Masters	0	0	0	2	0	0	12	25	3	1	11	15
Bachelors	0	3	6	20	0	1	105	140	10	16	26	30
Diploma	0	63	24	301	0	8	51	128	0	0	27	20
Certificated	0	78	27	112	2	11	25	13	0	0	21	11
Uncertificated	0	14	9	48	0	0	2	4	0	0	0	1
Total	0	158	66	484	2	20	195	310	13	17	85	77

Source: EMIS, Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development 201. (M-Male F-Female).

Women in Management Positions in Schools

77.Another area where women predominate is in managerial positions in schools. In 2016, women made up 88% of head teachers in primary schools and 80% of secondary school head teachers. In 2016, there were 98% of female managers in state schools at primary level, compared to 64%at the secondary level. Seventy-two percent of head teachers hold master’s degree in educational management.

The Elimination of Gender Stereotypes from Text Books

78.Gender equality does not only mean that boys and girls have equal access to schooling. It means that the processes of education itself must be empowering and geared towards changing stereotypical expectations of boys and girls and transforming gender relations and the unequal positioning of the sexes in society. The Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development is fully aware of this critical role of education in shaping realities and perceptions of gender equality, equity, identity and relations. Since1994, the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development has taken a number of steps to improve the situation. Locally produced materials are screened for gender sensitivity and teachers have been trained to challenge stereotypes where they exist.

Same opportunity to benefit from scholarships and study grants

79.Scholarships and grants are currently managed by the Agency for National Human Resource Development (ANHRD), formerly the National Human Resources Development Council (NHRDC). Criteria for award of government scholarships are based on a point system which combines academic performance, behavior and active participation and on the recommendation of the employer in the case of in-service students. There are no gender considerations for the award of scholarships. Records obtained from the ANHRD showed that in 2016 the enrolments figure for those studying abroad were 159, and females accounted for 67% of that total. In 2016, ANHRD recorded 91 graduates from overseas training, through sponsored scholarship, and females accounted for 50% and 44% at Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree, respectively. On aggregate females represented 48% of the graduates.

80.A fair degree of stereotyping in course choices is, however, apparent from examination of the list of returning graduates. Fields such as languages (English and French), Geography, Human Resources Management, Social Sciences, Social work, Services and Educational Leadership are dominated by women, 71% and 72% female in 2015 and 2016, respectively The large majority of graduates in the field of civil and mechanical engineering, telecommunication engineering, building and construction, aircraft engineering, computer science, pilot and aviation studies and fisheries are men accounting for 70% and 86% in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Numbers are more balanced for areas such as law, medicine and business studies over the years.

Same Access to Programmes of Continuing Education

81.Continuing education and adult and functional literacy programmes are offered by the Seychelles Institute of Distance and Open Learning (SIDOL), formerly the Adult Learning and Distance Education Centre (ALDEC), originally the School of Continuing Education setup in 1983 under the Ministry of Education. The main objectives of the School of Continuing Education were to upgrade the academic and occupational skills of adults, provide retraining for new occupations as well as language skills needed for everyday communication and overseas training. The Centre’s name was changed to the ALDEC in 1999 and SIDOL in 2015 under the Professional Centre’s Charter. Its main objectives under an expanded mandate are to:

•Provide and promote affordable, accessible and continuing quality education to out-of-school youths and adults to enable them to contribute more fully to their own and the nation’s overall development;

•Provide for the acquisition of functional literacy skills to improve the quality of life of all adults and out-of-school youths;

•Provide learning opportunities to help develop the capacity of individuals to participate more effectively in the process of change;

•Contribute to the development of a lifelong learning culture among all citizens;

•Provide education and training opportunities to further knowledge, improve/develop skills, or further vocational interests;

•Advocate for adult and continuing education programmes and functional literacy programmes;

•Provide diverse and creative educational programmes and learning experiences consistent with the needs of adult learners;

•Assist Ministries and organisations with provision and implementation of in-service staff development programmes.

82.SIDOL is organized under three main programme areas: Literacy programmes, distance education and in-service and short courses. All three are largely enrolled by women, as illustrated in Table 14 below.

Table 14Enrolment in the three main programme areas

	2015		2016
Programme areas	% M	% F	% M	% F
Literacy	26%	74%	20%	80%
Distance Education	44%	56%	–	100%
In-service and short courses	18%	82%	25%	75%

Source: EMIS, Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development 2017.

Literacy Programmes

83.Literacy programmes are offered free of charge to all citizens in all districts of the country and in certain work organizations and the prison. Courses are offered in English, French, Creole and Mathematics at three levels. ALDEC records show (Table 15) that the large majority of participants as from 2001when statistics were disaggregated, are women. The large majority of literacy instructors are also female, with 100% females in both 2015 and 2016.

Table 15Attendance of Literacy Classes for 2015 and 2016

Year	M	F	Total
2015	44	5	49
2016	41	5	46

Source: Seychelles Institute of Open and Distance Learning, 2017.

84.The introduction of literacy classes has had an impact on national literacy rates which increased from 84.2% in 1987 to 95.3% in 2015 (Figure 2).

Figure 2Adult Literacy Rate, population 15+ years, both sexes (%)

Source: World Bank Data 2017.

85.Women’s greater participation in literacy programmes increased their literacy rates. Taken globally, the literacy rate for men and women is almost the same, (94.8% and 95.8%respectively). For the elderly (aged 65 years and above), the literacy rate for Seychelles increased from 52.6 % in 1987 to 75.6 % in 2015, growing at an average annual rate of 9.56 % (Figure 3).

Figure 3Elderly Literacy Rate, population 65+ years, both sexes (%)

Source: World Bank Data 2017.

Distance Education and in-service training

86.This area caters for individuals who wish to follow University level courses from international universities. These are done by distance and SIDOL acts as the supporting agency for students. Moreover, SIDOL is developing short online courses to meet the needs of adult learners. There is also a wide variety of short courses either as in-service programmes for organizations or for individuals. Women make up 65% of participants enrolled on distance education courses and over 90% of participants enrolled on short courses.

The reduction of female dropout rates

87.Female dropout rates were not considered a matter of concern in the 1990s because of the very small numbers of girls dropping out of school.

88.Figure 4 below illustrates movement of learners from the 10 state secondary schools during the year 2016. Fifty-nine percent of the 68 students who dropped out were males, while females accounted for 41% in 2016. There were 22 students at S4 level and 46 students at S5 level. The dropout figures for both male and female in 2016 were consistent with the 2015 figures, which showed 29 females and 44 males.

Figure 4 Attrition of Learners in State Secondary Schools by Gender, 2016

89.However, other studies show that dropout rates are under reported because of the quality of records kept by schools and the fact that some schools prefer to maintain silence on the exit of the most difficult students. The Nolan Report reported that “as many as 21% of the school population dropout before they complete secondary five because of the unsatisfactory technical/vocational curriculum provision and the emphasis on academic subjects which discourages the less academically oriented students.”

90.There are a number of programmes designed to assist school dropouts. The Phase One of the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) was first introduced to S4 students in 2011, to provide an alternative learning pathway for some students who lie at the lower end of the performance scale.

91.Tables 16 and 17 below present the number of students initially enrolled and who successfully completed the programme at S4 and S5 levels respectively for 2016. Out of the 116 students (95% males & 5% females) enrolled at S4 level, 103 students representing a completion rate of 88% successfully completed the programme. At S5 level, the completion rate which stood at 92% is much higher than at S4 Level.

Table 16 Number of students in TVET programme at S4 level, by school and by gender, 2016

	Number of learners enrolled initially	Number of learners completed	Number of drop-outs
School	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
Anse Boileau	8	0	8	8	0	8	0	0	0
Anse Royale	11	4	15	11	3	14	0	1	1
Belonie	13	2	15	12	2	14	1	0	1
Beau Vallon	13	1	14	11	1	12	2	0	2
English River	7	1	8	7	1	8	0	0	0
La Digue	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mont Fleuri	8	2	10	8	2	10	0	0	0
Pointe Larue	11	0	11	10	8	2	10	0	0
Plaisance	16	3	19	11	3	14	5	0	5
Praslin	14	2	16	12	1	13	2	1	3
Total	101	15	116	90	13	103	11	2	13

Source: EMIS database, December 2016.

Table 17

Number of students in TVET programme at S5 level, by school and by gender, 2016

	Number of learners enrolled initially	Number of learners completed	Number of drop-outs
School	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
Anse Boileau	10	3	13	9	3	12	1	0	1
Anse Royale	15	4	19	14	3	17	1	1	2
Belonie	13	2	15	11	2	13	2	0	2
Beau Vallon	12	2	14	12	2	14	0	0	0
English River	13	4	17	13	4	17	0	0	0
La Digue	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mont Fleuri	13	3	16	13	3	16	0	0	0
Pointe Larue	7	4	11	6	2	8	1	2	3
Plaisance	11	6	17	8	6	14	3	0	3
Praslin	10	0	10	10	0	10	0	0	0
Total	104	28	132	96	25	121	8	3	11

Source: EMIS database, December 2016.

Opportunities to participate actively in sports and physical education

92.Physical Education (PE) is one of the eight (8) essential learning components of the national curriculum along with languages, mathematics, sciences, the arts, technical studies, social studies and Personal and Social Education considered essential for a broad and balanced curriculum. Physical education is therefore a compulsory subject offered to all students as from primary one to the end of the compulsory cycle for 80 minutes per week for all students. Through PE, learners are given the opportunity to participate in a variety of individual (athletics, swimming, gymnastics) and team activities (basketball, football, netball, handball, and volleyball) to improve health and fitness, develop motor skills and learn the importance of competition and teamwork. The National Curriculum Framework (2001) stresses that all activities must be gender inclusive. There are no dress regulations or cultural barriers to girls’ participation in PE.

93.The annual inter school national athletics competition organized on Independence Day, presently on Constitutional Day remains an important activity on the school calendar. Boys and girls have equal opportunity to compete for medals in over 80 track and field events.

94.PE is delivered by trained teachers at all levels of schooling. There were almost equal numbers of male and female PE teachers in schools in 2016 (29 females and 31males), with this years’ total of 73 teachers (33 females and 40 males).

Access to specific educational information to ensure health and well-being of families

95.Students are given information on Family Life and Health Education as part of the Personal, Social and Civic Education (PSCE) programme in the National Curriculum. The programme begins in Primary One and ends in Secondary Five. For students in tertiary educational institutions, these sessions are conducted on a less regular basis, and depend on the assistance of a variety of other organisations, such as the Youth Health Centre (YHC), the Seychelles National Youth Council (SNYC), the Drug and Alcohol Council (DAC), amongst others.

Informal Curriculum

96.Outside the formal curriculum, trained school counsellors provide individual counselling on a wide range of social and health-related issues (such as pupils who seek help or display risky sexual or antisocial behaviour). Pupils requiring specialist help are directed to the Youth Health Centre counsellors or school health nurses who work closely with schools. The school counsellors and school health nurses also conduct special sessions for groups of students with similar issues, as well as for teachers and parents based on needs identified by individual schools. The concept of ‘Health Promoting Schools’ has been actively advocated since 2002. Further support is given through an ongoing peer counselling / education programme operated jointly with the Ministry of Health, with focus on promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights. Other partners include the Youth Health Centre and the Red Cross Society of Seychelles.

97.Key topics for training of peer educators/counsellors are relationships, HIV and AIDS, communication, substance abuse, puberty, problem solving, safer sex practices, amongst others. The schools also mark key international days such as World AIDS Day, World No Tobacco Day, International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Breast Cancer amongst others.

Article 11: Employment

98.The Public Service Order (PSO) which gives guidelines on employment conditions for public servants has been updated in 2011. These changes are indicated below.

99.The updated Public Service Order (PSO) 2011 states the following:

Non-Discrimination

Gender Equality

“All avenues of employment in the Public Service shall be opened to both men and women who are suitably qualified. There shall be no difference between the salary, or other terms and conditions of service, for men and women employees of equivalent qualifications and experience.”

Social protection

100.The updated version of the Social Security Act 2010 states the following:

“3. A person who is a citizen of Seychelles and is resident in Seychelles is entitled to apply for benefits payable under this Act.”

101.The Social Welfare Agency Act has now been replaced by the Agency for Social Protection Act 2011.

“17. (1) Any Seychellois citizen above the age of 18 years and resident in Seychelles whose means are insufficient to meet his or her basic household needs may apply for social welfare assistance under section 14.”

“(2) In this section ''resident" means resident in Seychelles for an aggregate period of 11 months in a given year.”

102.Women still constitute the greater proportion of beneficiaries for social welfare allowance, accounting for more than 68% of recipients (see paragraph 128).

103.The special needs of working parents in the public service are no longer recognized by the updated PSO. Instead, the updated PSO states the following:

Sick leave

(b) Sick leave shall be granted:

(ii) If the employee's child aged under 12 years is sick and a medical practitioner or official authorized by the Authority responsible for Health recommends that the employee attends to the child; or

(iii) In exceptional circumstances when an employee's dependent, other than a child under 12 years, is medically certified as sick and the medical practitioner certifies that the sick person requires the attendance of the employee .

Maternity leave

104.The updated PSO states the following:

Maternity leave

(g) Where possible, at the discretion of the Chief Executive Officer, no night work (work at any time between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.) and no overtime shall be undertaken by women employees during pregnancy. Night work and overtime shall be prohibited from the sixth month of pregnancy and up to at least three months after confinement. Any other work prejudicial to the woman’s health or that of the child shall similarly be prohibited;

(h) During pregnancy and up to at least three months after confinement a woman who presents a medical certificate stating that a change in the nature of her work is necessary in the interests of her health and/or that of her child shall have the right to be redeployed to appropriate duties without loss of pay. Should re-deployment not be possible, the woman shall be entitled to sick leave as laid down in Order 102;

(i) A pregnant employee shall give to her employer at least three months’ notice of her expected date of confinement.

105.Patterns and rates of female employment have changed in the last few years. More men are entering the labour market. However, available national labour statistics date back to the 2002 Census report which shows a rising female participation rate but very little evolution in patterns of employment when compared to the 2010 Census.

106.Table 18 shows that overall labour participation rates increased from 72.3% in 2002 to 74.0% in 2010 (Census 2010.) While rates for men increased by 2% from 77.2% in 1994 to 79.2% in 2010, female rates increased by 0.9% from 67.4% to 68.3% in 2010.

Table 18 Labour participation rates by age groups and sex, 1994 to 2010

	Male	Female	Total
Age group	1994	2002	2010	1994	2002	2010	1994	2002	2010
15<20	32.3	40.5	41.5	30.4	32	26.1	31.4	36.3	34.1
20<25	88.9	89.8	91.8	82.6	84.5	86.6	85.8	87.2	89.5
25<30	93.7	93.5	94.1	87.1	88.8	90.6	90.3	91.2	92.6
30<35	93.8	94.6	94.5	85.4	89.7	90.3	89.6	92.2	92.6
35<40	94	93.4	94.3	82.6	89.9	90.2	88.7	91.7	92.4
40<45	92.2	92.6	94.2	78.8	87.4	90.8	86.2	90.1	92.6
45<50	90.7	91	93	73.6	84.1	88	82.8	87.8	90.6
50<55	86.1	86.3	88.9	64.6	78.2	81.7	75.2	82.6	85.5
55<60	76	79.7	77.1	52.4	66.2	64.1	63.4	73	70.9
60<65	52.6	51.5	46.1	30.3	40.3	31.8	40.7	45.3	39
65+	6.1	9.4	9.6	3.3	3	3	4.9	5.5	5.6
Total	68.1	77.2	79.2	56.1	67.4	68.3	62.1	72.3	74

Source: NBS, National Population and Housing Census 2010.

107.Table 19 shows the pattern of employment for males and females according to the 2010 Census Report. It is observed that female holding 18.4% is dominating the public sector than males holding 8.1%. Whereas both the Parastatal and private is dominated by the males.

108.An increase is observed in the representation of both employees and self‑employed groups. The former has increased from 55.5% in 2002 to 57.7% in 2010; and the latter from 8.7% to 10.6% over the same period. Although the overall representation of employees has increased, the contribution to this rise is only from the private sector since the representation of public sector (government and parastatals) employees has actually decreased in 2010 compared to 2002. Conversely, the proportion of job seekers and economically active population aged 15 years or more has decreased. Pertinent differences can also be observed in the distribution within sex. Within the employees group, the representation of female employees in the government is more than twice that of males. Whereas among the private sector employees, the representation among males is 11% higher than females.

Table 19 Populations aged 15 years or more by economic status and sex, 2002 and 2010

Economic status	2010	2002
Female	(%)	Male	(%)	Total	(%)	(%)
Government employee	6259	18.4	2959	8.1	9218	13.1	19.9
Parastatal Employee	2484	7.3	2965	8.1	5449	7.7	9.8
Private Employee	10596	31.2	15414	42.1	26010	36.9	25.8
Own account worker with employee	207	0.6	493	1.3	700	1.0	0.7
Own account worker without employee	1451	4.3	5304	14.5	6755	9.6	8.0
Contributing family worker	410	1.2	144	0.4	554	0.8	1.0
Partially employed job-seeker	174	0.5	310	0.8	484	0.7	1.9
Unemployed job-seeker	1622	4.8	1391	3.8	3013	4.3	5.2
Students	2714	8.0	2165	5.9	4879	6.9	7.6
Retired and other inactive	7776	22.9	5114	14.0	12890	18.3	19.0
Not stated	273	0.8	325	0.9	598	0.8	1.1
Total	33966	100.0	36584	100.0	70550	100.0	100.0

Source: NBS, National Population and Housing Census 2010.

109.Table 20 presents the employed persons by occupation and sex, 2011–2012 Quarterly Labour Force Surveys. The employed persons were mostly employed as service & sales workers (26%), in the elementary occupations (16%), as craft & related trade workers (12%) and as professionals (11%).

110.There are clear gender differences in the occupational distributions. Employed females were mostly concentrated in the groups of services and sales workers, professionals and clerical support workers. Males on the other hand were mostly employed as managers, skilled agricultural workers, craft & related trade workers, plant & machine operators and in the armed forces. The female dominance amongst the professionals is interesting, especially when looked at against the role reversal amongst the managers.

Table 20 Employed persons by occupation and sex, 2011/2012

Current main occupation	Male	Female	Both sexes	Employed population
Manager	6.7	4.7	5.7	2283
Professionals	8.1	13.6	10.8	4322
Technicians and Associate Professionals	9.8	9.9	9.8	3927
Clerical Support Workers	3.1	11.7	7.4	2944
Service and sales Workers	16.0	35.8	25.8	10288
Skilled Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Workers	6.6	1.5	4.1	1619
Craft and Related Trade Workers	19.4	4.4	12.0	4805
Plant and Machine Operators and Assemblers	12.6	1.8	7.3	2909
Elementary Occupation	16.5	16.0	16.3	6494
Armed Forces	1.3	0.5	0.9	359
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0
Employed Population	20260	19690	39950	39950

Source: National Bureau of Statistics, LFS 2011/2012.

111.Table 21 represents the distribution of employed persons by industry and sex, 2011/2012. Given the dominant role of tourism in the economy, the main industrial sectors in Seychelles in terms of employment, are not surprisingly accommodation and food services (13.7%), wholesale and retail trade, and transportation and storage (17.3%). Other important industries are public administration, manufacturing and health. Although it seems that the construction industry does not feature prominently, it should be noted that the greater number of employees in this industry are migrant workers who were not part of this survey. Only few persons were employed in professional, scientific and technical activities (1.7%) and in information and communication (1.3%).

Table 21 Distribution of employed persons by Industry & Sex, 2011/2012

Current main Industry	Male	Female	Both sexes	Employed population
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	6.5	0.7	3.6	1441
Manufacturing; Mining and quarrying and other industrial activities	15.8	9.2	12.6	5020
Construction	9.5	1.2	5.4	2.147
Wholesale and retail trade; Transportation and storage	22.9	11.4	17.3	6892
Accommodation and food service activities	11.7	15.8	13.7	5470
Information and communication	1.6	1.0	1.3	517
Financial and insurance activities; Real estate activities	2.7	4.1	3.4	1346
Professional, scientific and technical activities;	1.6	1.8	1.7	671
Administrative and support services activities	7.6	6.3	7.0	2786
Public administration and defence	7.7	12.9	10.2	4092
Education	2.6	9.2	5.9	2338
Human health and social work activities	2.3	14.9	8.5	3410
Other service activities	7.4	11.2	9.3	3703
Not Stated	0.1	0.4	0.3	117
All industries	100.0	100.0	100.0
	20260	19690		39950

Source: National Bureau of Statistics, LFS 2011/2012.

Article 12: Health

112.Free primary health care at the point of use is a constitutional right in Seychelles and the entire population has access to basic health care. With a comprehensive maternal and child health care, both maternal and infant mortality have remained low. Infant mortality from 16.0 to 10.3, perinatal mortality from 21.1 to 15.7 and under-five mortality from 14 to 12.8 per 1000 live births were recorded from 2003 to 2012. Similarly, the maternal mortality ratio has remain very low 0 in the last ten years with the exception of 2008 and 2010 and 2013 which recorded 1, 2 and 1 death respectively. It is to be noted that the year 2013 was a bit of an exception with significant increase in most of the child health statistics as depicted in figure 5 below.

Figure 5 Child Mortality Rate

Source: Seychelles in Figures, NBS.

113.There have been a number of initiatives by the Ministry of Health to improve health outcomes of mothers and children. Through the Health of our Nation and My Health, My Responsibility policy documents and education and awareness campaigns, there have been efforts to encourage the population to take more personal responsibility for their health. Other campaigns include the promotion of baby friendly services and breastfeeding educational campaigns.

114.Another initiative in 2016 was the review of the Nurses and Midwives Act of 1985 which was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. The review was financially supported by the Commonwealth as part of a wider regional initiative. The new Nurses and Midwives Act is expected to address major professional issues such as mandatory continuous professional development, training required for registration as various levels of nurses, scope of practice and nurse prescribing within limits. A major difference is that the work on the continuous development framework is part of the new Nurses and Midwives Act.

115.However, there is cause for concern regarding suicide attempts, which shows no sign of abating. More recently, the Ministry of Health (2017) reported a total of 17 (6 males, 11 females) cases of intentional self-harm in July to September 2017 compared to 23 (10 males, 13 females) during the same period in 2016. In the 2017 period, more cases were in young people. For example, in the age-group of 25–29 years, there were 4 cases (3 males, 1 female) representing 23.5% of the total number of cases.

116.Another issue of concern is access to legal and safe abortions. Women may still have their request for a Termination of Pregnancy (TOP) refused by the Board of the Ministry of Health. For example, a comparison of the latest data which covers the period of July to September 2017 show that out of the 35 TOPs requested, 27 (77.1%) were approved, compared to the same period in 2016, where out of 42 requests 28 were approved, representing 66.7%.

117.An emerging issue is heroin-dependent mothers delivering babies who are withdrawing from heroin. From 2008 to 2012, when the problem was first noticed at the Maternity Ward of the Seychelles Hospital, there were 8 cases reported in 2008, 36 in 2009, with a slight decrease in 2010 with 25 recorded cases, and 13 and 27 cases in 2011 and 2012 respectively (Figure 6).

Figure 6 Heroin dependent mothers

Source : Ministry of Health (2013).

118.From 2015 and 2016, the Maternity Ward of the Seychelles Hospital continued to record cases, but it is likely that these are under-reported. The youngest patient was 15 years and the oldest was 39 years. Almost half of the registered cases were People Who Inject Drugs (PWID). The characteristics of the women and girls were as follows: they came to a maximum of only 2 ante-natal visits, with many defaulters; they were also late-bookers or had no bookings at all. In some cases, the child was born before arrival, with almost half of babies born being pre-term, with low birth weight (LBW) and neonatal abstinence withdrawal.

119.There were many challenges to address this issue: the difficulty to manage the prenatal/postnatal mothers in their withdrawal states, the Maternity Unit not being the best place to nurse those mothers and babies with heroin dependence, and partners and friends who brought in drugs for them. The staff had constraints, such as a lack of specialisation in management of heroin dependence or even substance abuse problems. There were rising costs, especially as the Maternity Ward was expecting an ever greater increase of cases in 2017.

HIV and AIDS

120.The first case of HIV was diagnosed in 1987. Since then, the number of new cases has continued to rise especially from 2005 onwards. As of December 2016, there were 830 cumulative HIV cases, 305 cumulative AIDS cases and 154 cumulative deaths since 1987. In 2014, the Seychelles recorded 91 new cases of HIV infections and a total of 19 deaths. From January to December 2016, there have been 73 new cases of HIV, with 13 co-infections with Hepatitis C (cf. Table 22).

Table 22 New Cases of HIV from January to December 2016

Age	M	F	Co-infection
<15	0	0	0
15-19	1	1	0
20-24	5	2	1
25-29	10	6	8
30-34	10	3	0
35-39	13	1	2
40-44	2	1	0
45-49	4	2	1
50+	7	5	1
Total	52	21	13

Source: Ministry of Health (2017).

121.The HIV epidemic in Seychelles is a concentrated one with the danger that it could become a generalized one, given that the prevalence in the general population was 0.87% in 2012. There have been no general population prevalence studies done since then. Table 23 shows the comparative prevalence in different population groups. Injecting drug use is associated with higher prevalence of HIV in the population of PWID, with notably a prevalence of 0.87% in the general population, compared to 5.8% in PWID and 13.2% in Men who Sex With Men (MSM) (Table 23).

Table 23 Comparative results for HIV prevalence

Populations	Sources	HIV Prevalence
15 to 64 years	IBBS, 2012	0.87%
15 to 19 years	IBBS, 2012	0.76%
MSM	IBBS, 2011	13.2%
PWID	IBBS, 2011	5.8%
FSW	IBBS, 2015	4.6%

Source: Ministry of Health (2017).

122.Seychelles has developed a national policy and two major strategic plans to address HIV and AIDS. The second plan, The National Strategic Framework for HIV and AIDS and STIs was developed for the period 2012-2016 and is presently being reviewed.

123.Seychelles recognises that stigma and discrimination continue to be barriers to access to treatment for HIV infections. There are now a number of NGOs advocating for key populations. These are the LGBTI Sey, the Drug Users Network Seychelles and there is the likelihood that a sex workers’ network will be created in 2018 to help address the issue of stigma, discrimination and violence against key populations. The NGOs mentioned are working closely with the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA) to advocate for the reduction of stigma, discrimination and violence.

124.The country has also developed its National Reproductive Health Policy 2012 as an indication of governments’ commitment towards the paradigm shift of reorienting the Maternal and Child Health/Family Planning services to Sexual and Reproductive Health approach. The state facilities and its Family Planning services are supported by one NGO, working in the sector, Alliance of Solidarity for the Family. It offers sexual and reproductive health services to men and women, and a special clinic for men on Saturday mornings.

Article 13: Economic and Social Benefits

Access to social benefits

125.Table 24 shows that the Seychellois continue to be protected from the worst of social and economic situations, through a fairly generous social protection regime, administered by the Agency for Social Protection (ASP). The number of beneficiaries per month, per year and by sex is presented above for the period 2013 to 2016. The majority of social assistance benefits are women, with a ratio of 1:3 in 2016.

Table 24 Number of social welfare beneficiaries from 2013 to 2016

	2013	2014	2015	2016
Year/Month	F	M	Total	F	M	Total	F	M	Total	F	M	Total
January	1033	614	1647	1169	630	1799	840	525	1365	1752	845	2597
February	1072	631	1700	1249	624	1873	879	524	1403	1824	856	2680
March	1141	603	1744	1239	601	1840	920	502	1422	1899	792	2691
April	1144	605	1749	1212	592	1804	908	510	1418	1848	821	2669
May	1198	614	1812	1203	579	1782	922	552	1474	1974	891	2865
June	1307	663	1970	1175	596	1771	975	565	1540	2146	943	3089
July	1200	655	1855	1097	606	1703	1028	584	1612	2190	1007	3197
August	1303	653	1956	1138	624	1762	1245	652	1897	2226	1119	3345
Sep	1304	660	1964	1101	586	1687	1446	727	2173	2508	1269	3777
Oct	1374	670	2044	1091	583	1674	1518	761	2279	2520	1313	3833
Nov	1403	675	2078	1088	572	1660	1665	749	2414	2385	1079	3464
Dec	1448	682	2130	1124	575	1699	1822	756	2578	2290	1014	3304
Av. Number	1244	644	1887	1157	597	1755	1181	617	1798	2130	996	3126

126.The graph below illustrates the average number of welfare recipients for the year 2013-2016 by sex.

Figure 7 Average number of welfare recipients for the period 2013 to 2016

Source: Agency for Social Protection, 2017. (*F – Female; M-Male, T-Total).

127.The types of benefits are also updated from time to time. The different types and rates are listed in Table 25 below.

Table 25Benefit Types and Rates as at April 2016

Benefit type	Entitlement	Payment	Duration
Welfare Assistance	Applicant must be aged 18 and above. Households whose income do not meet their basic needs	Max. payment: SCR2,500 Min.: SCR500	Household income supplement is reviewed every 12 months
	If you are temporarily unemployed Applicant who have medical certificate but does not qualify for sickness benefit, thus applying on medical grounds	Insufficient income max.: SCR3,945	For unemployed grounds, assistance is reviewed every 3 months For medical as per health assessment for incapacity
Benefits Sickness benefits	Sickness Reimbursement: Sick leave paid by employer is reimbursed by the agency	80% of the beneficiary income from employment	130 working days if continuous
	Sickness Benefit: A person applying for sickness benefit must provide a medical certificate and evidence of employment or self-employment	Maximum SCR2,480
Maternity Benefit	Maternity Reimbursement: Maternity benefit is paid to an employed or self-employed person	80% of monthly salary
	Maternity Benefit: A certificate of confinement must support claim for the benefit. Claim should not be earlier than 4 weeks or later than 4 weeks of confinement	Maximum payment is SCR2,480	Paid for 14 weeks
Injury Benefit	Injury benefit is paid to employed person only; the person must provide a medical certificate and evidence of employment status	Maximum payment is SCR2,480	Payable for each working day on which the beneficiary is incapable of work
Invalidity Benefit	A person applying for invalidity Benefits must provide, evidence of the degree of incapacity as shown on the medical certificate and evidence that family income does not exceed their family subsistence level	Standard rate of SCR5,050	Maximum 130 working days if continuous. The durations depend on the decision from the medical board
Disablement Benefit	A person who is partially or totally incapable of work following a period of entitlement to injury benefit	Standard rate of SCR2,480	The durations depend on the decision from the medical board for life
Survivor Benefit	A person is eligible for survivor’s benefit, when a spouse who was a person covered has died A widower shall be entitled to a widower pension if his degree of incapacity for work is 75% or over	Maximum payment is SCR2,480	A widow may be entitled to a widow’s pension or widowed mother’s pension payable for one year or a shorter period
Funeral Benefit	A person claiming funeral benefit must provide a death certificate and national identity card of the deceased and an account of expenses relating to the funeral and receipts, within 6 months of the date of death of the deceased	Standard rate of SCR1,700	One-off payment
Dependent Benefit	A child under the age of 15 years who is maintained by a beneficiary shall be regarded as a dependent child A child over the age of 15 years who is undergoing full time education is also regarded as a dependent child if he/she is being maintained by a beneficiary	Child-SCR1,230 Adult-SCR1,380	Upon completion of post-secondary education
Orphan/Abandoned Child Benefit	For orphan benefit - Children/ Young person who have lost both parents They must be under the age of 18 years or under the age of 20 if he/she is still attending post-secondary education	Maximum is SCR1,540	Upon completion of post-secondary education
Retirement Pension	A person of 63 years of age and older are entitled, the person must have been a resident of Seychelles for 5 continuous years out of the last 15 years prior to reaching retirement age	Standard rate of SCR5,050	For the rest of their lives
Paternity Benefit	Payment made to all fathers who are on paternity leave from work	Maximum is SCR2,480	For 5 working days only
Semi orphan	Assistance is to be given after the death of one parent	SCR1,300	Upon completion of post-secondary education
Project and approved scheme Post-secondary bursary allowance	All students in post-secondary intuitions are entitled	1st year -SCR850 2nd year -SCR950 3rd year-SCR1,050	1-3 years
Apprenticeship Scheme	Apprentices are placed in organizations for job training and they are at same time attached to a post-secondary institution for theoretical component of their training	1st year-SCR1,400 2nd year-SCR1,600	Duration varies upon courses
Foster care	Allowance for foster caregivers/foster parent	Foster parent SCR1,500 per child / Foster SCR1,300	Upon completion of post-secondary education
Day care	To assist with day care cost for child up to 4 years of age who is not in crèche, where by the parent(s)/guardian is in employment	SCR500	Before crèche
Child Minder	Registered child-minders with IECD who are looking after children aged between 6 to 10 years	SCR5,050	On a monthly basis
Homecare	Home carer assistance is an assistance given out to people who cannot take care of themselves on their own These are people with a disability, sickness or their ability has been reduced to other reason A person applying must undertake a medical test to test his/her ability, and must fill in an applications form by the agency to determine if he/she is qualifying for the assistance through a means test	Full day carer SR5,772 Half day carer SR3,607.50	The assistance can be permanent or temporary depending on the health conditions of the applicant Based on Merit (means testing) similar workings as with welfare application

S ource: Agency for Social Protection (2017).

*A person who cannot work because of long-term illness or has a disability. A Child born with or develop a disability during childhood.

Access to bank loans, mortgages and other forms of financial credit

128.The Development Bank of Seychelles (DBS was created in 1978 by Decree No. 21. The bank’s purpose is to contribute to economic development by providing financial assistance for economically, sound and technically feasible projects in the areas of agriculture, fisheries, industry, services, tourism and tourism related project. The Bank finances mainly small to medium-sized businesses, including start-up businesses. This is seen as a vital role as it helps support one of the main pillars of the economy.

129.The bank is popular with small and medium sized entrepreneurs because of its favourable lending terms. Loans are granted on soft terms, with grace periods and long loan duration for period up to fifteen years, depending on projects. The Bank has strived to maintain a low interest rate charge on borrowers. All Seychellois citizens have equal rights to access a loan from the Development Bank of Seychelles as long as the loan meets the Bank’s criteria and is for a development project.

130.DBS employs a total of 57 members of staff comprising of 9 males and 48 females. The management team consists of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who is male and four Heads of Departments who are all females. At middle management level, there are 4 male and 7 female managers. The current CEO is male; nonetheless, it is to be noted that the previous one was female. At board level, there are four male and three female board members. The Chairperson is female and vice-chairman is male.

131.Figure 8 shows the number of loans approved by gender.

Figure 8 Loans Approved by Gender (2013-2016)

Source: DBS (2017).

132.The graph above indicates that a large majority of loans granted to businesses from the period 2013 to 2016 were for males. On average DBS has approved 20% of loans to women per year during the period 2013 to 2016.

133.Table 26 below also shows that most of the loans granted to women were in the building and construction sector with the exception of year 2013, where the majority of loans granted to women entrepreneurs were in the service sector. The building and construction sector comprises of construction only projects, involving commercial and residential building and luxury apartments for rental purposes. The services sector includes businesses such as cleaning contractors, hairdressers, take-away business, child minding and purchase of specialized equipment.

Table 26 Sector Dominance by Women, by Year

Years	2013	2014	2015	2016
Sector	Services	Building & Construction	Building & Construction	Building & Construction
No. of Loans Approved	5	25	37	39
Total Number of Loans for Women	8	65	51	47

Source: DBS (2017).

134.Women dominated in the cottage industry sector, which consisted mostly of tailoring, food processing, handicraft and professional services (Figure 9). Many of the items made are mainly sold to tourists as souvenirs. Figure 10 shows that there was a ratio of 1:2 in favour of women for cottage industry in the period from 2004 to 2016, with 1613 females compared to 762 males.

Figure 9 Categories of Registered Cottage Industry (2004-2016)

S ource: SEnPA (2017).

Figure 10Cottage Industry by Gender (2004-2016)

Article 14: Rural Women

135.Given the small geographical size of the country and the structure of the population, there is no formal definition of rural and urban classification in Seychelles.

Part IV

Article 15: Equality before the Law and Civil Matters

136. No updates available.

Article 16: Marriage and Family Life

137.There are proposed amendments to the Civil Code to allow women living in concubinage and her children to have fairer inheritance rights upon the decease of the partner. Presently, the Civil Code does not recognise same-sex marriages or civil unions.

138.Gender-Based Violence (GBV) remains a problem in Seychelles. Between 2013 and 2016, the Family Tribunal intervened in 2,366 new cases or applications for protection order under the Family Violence Protection of Victims Act (2000).Out of these cases, 1233 were cases of spousal or ex-spousal violence and 1133 were cases involving other family members seeking recourse. In the spousal cases, 54 were registered by males and 1179 were filed by females. Thus, over the past 4 years, 96% of applications, made with the Family Tribunal for Protection Orders under the Family Violence Protection of Victim Act, were lodged by women compared to 4% made by men.

Table 27 Registered cases at the Family Tribunal (2013–2016)

Year	2013	2014	2015	2016	Total
Registered applications	623	601	638	504	2366
1. Spousal/ Ex	338	278	337	280	1233
(I) Male	15	20	16	3	54
(Ii) Female	323	258	321	277	1179
2 Other Family Members	285	323	301	224	1133
Orders of the tribunal
Protection	117	136	116	262	631
Referral to other agencies
Probation	99	71	66	137	373
Mont Royale	-	-	6	8	14
(I) Male	-	-	6	6	12
(Ii) Female	-	-	-	2	2
Eviction	67	59	95	58	279
(I) Male	67	58	92	55	272
(Ii) Female	-	1	3	3	7
Prison sent for breach	11	8	27	9	55
(Ii) Male	11	8	27	9	55
(Ii) Female	-	-	-	-	-

S ource: Family Tribunal (2017).

139.To help counteract the level of GBV, the Gender Secretariat with the help of COMESA has developed a GBV Curriculum for tertiary non-university institutions to help the young men and women to address issues related to relationships, cultural and social norms and violence, as well violence in dating. The Gender Secretariat, however, remains understaffed and underfunded, with only one female worker.

Outstanding issues and responses to: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) and (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5/Add.1)

Parliament

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) paragraph 7, page 2

140.The then Social Affairs Department formulated an Action Plan once the Concluding Observations were received. However, there are still many challenges especially with data collection. There have been no sensitisation sessions per se of the CEDAW with all branches of government due to the parliamentary and presidential elections, as all activities were postponed. However, in spite of the limited sensitisation, the Concluding Observations and other documents were shared with the Cabinet of Ministers, Chief Executive Officers and the Members of the National Assembly.

Defining Discrimination Against women

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) paragraph 9, page 2

141.The Seychelles has decided on this matter not to change its Constitution. Instead, the changes were made in the relevant legislation, such as the Employment Act 1995 and the Civil Code.

Legislative framework

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) Paragraph 11, Page 3

142.The relevant legislations are under review and updates will be available shortly.

Visibility of the Convention

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) Paragraph 13, Page 3

143.A sensitisation session on the CEDAW Convention, the Concluding Observations and steps to be undertaken by sectors to implement the Concluding Observations was organized for all Principal Secretaries and Chief Executive Officers in March 2014.The sensitization session report was circulated to all Principal Secretaries and Chief Executive Officers.

144.In 2015, funds were secured from UNESCO for a project entitled: Awareness Raising of the Seychelles Population on CEDAW. The following activities were carried out under this UNESCO project:

•The CEDAW Convention was translated into Creole, the Seychellois mother tongue and a booklet was produced. This booklet was widely disseminated to all MDAs and stakeholders;

•A summary of the CEDAW Concluding Observations was also translated into Creole and English. A leaflet was produced and it was also widely disseminated;

•Five community-based sensitization sessions were also conducted at national level on CEDAW from July to November 2015. The sessions were organised in collaboration with the Gender Secretariat from the Social Affairs Department, Ministry of Education and the Community Development and Sports Department. A total of 120 individuals attended the sessions and majority of them were female;

•An audio visual clip was also produced on CEDAW in English and Creole. This clip was aired on SBC to mark International Women’s Day on 8 March 2017;

•A CEDAW module for secondary schools is also being developed.

145.To mark World Population Day in July 2016, a sensitization session on CEDAW was organized for a group of 40 students at the Seychelles Institute of Teacher Education (SITE).

Access to justice

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) Paragraph 15, Page 3

146.Please refer to paragraph 142. Additional actions include various presentations made by the Attorney-General’s Office to a variety of audiences to explain a number of proposed amendments to the Penal and Civil Codes. There have also been appearances in mass media on live discussion programmes (Dyalog An Direk – Live Dialogue). Proposed amendments include changes in the Civil Code to provide for fairer inheritance for children born out of wedlock and for women who were co-habiting with their partners.

National machinery for the advancement of women

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5/Add.1) In relation to Paragraph 17

147.The National Gender Policy was officially launched on 25th November 2016 to mark the start of 16 days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence 2016 (25 Nov-10 Dec). An action plan is to be developed with the involvement of all relevant sectors. Copies of the National Policy have been widely disseminated to all stakeholders including international partners.

Temporary special measures

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) Paragraph 19, Page 4

148.There have been some changes, such as the National Institute of Science, Technology and Innovation ensuring that women were included in the personnel and on the governing board.

Stereotypes and harmful practices

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) Paragraph 21, Page 5

149.The National Gender Policy includes objectives to increase women, men, girls and boys access to quality education and training programmes to build a productive work force, free of gender stereotypes. The strategy to achieve this includes the strengthening of policies, programmes and campaigns addressing gender stereotyping in education/training, and linking gender stereotyping to gender-based violence, bullying, alcohol and substance abuse and risky sexual behaviour.

150.The Policy also includes an objective to mainstream gender in all information, communication, electronic media, and media policies, strategies and laws; and increase programmes for, by, and about women and challenge gender stereotypes in the media.

151.The Plan of Action has yet to be developed.

Violence against women

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5/Add.1) In relation to Paragraph 23

152.In January 2016, the Social Affairs Department in collaboration with The National Bureau of Statistics and a South African NGO, Gender Links carried out a GBV/Relationship survey for both men and women in Seychelles. The final report of the study is to be officially launched during the 16 days of Activism against GBV 2017.

153.A module on Gender-Based Violence has also been developed for students in professional centres. The module is to be handed over to the centres soon.

154.Orange Day Commemoration (every 25th of every month).

155.Letters were sent in 2016 to all Principal Secretaries and other agencies for the commemoration of the Orange Day at their respective departments. Orange Day Banners have also been presented to the Judiciary, Parliament and the National Library.

156.In 2017, this campaign has been brought to the secondary schools through a Poster, Poem & Essay competition. Prize giving ceremony for this competition will take place during the 16 days of Activism against GBV 2017.

157.The Strategy on GBV is being updated and there are more activities being planned to ensure that there is compliance.

158.There are psychosocial support services being offered by a variety of government agencies, civil society organisations including faith-based organisations and others. These help to complement the actions and programmes already being undertaken.

Trafficking and exploitation of prostitution

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) Paragraph 25, Page 6

159.Under the ‘Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons Act, 2014’, a high level National Coordinating Committee on Trafficking in Persons (NCCTiP) was established in June 2014, bringing together the various front line agencies addressing the crime, including Civil Society. The Committee is tasked to coordinate and oversee the national response and the implementation of the various strategies put in place to address trafficking in persons.

160.A two-year National Action Plan and Strategic Framework on Trafficking in Persons was launched in November 2014, aimed at setting comprehensive targets for the government to achieve in its endeavour to ensure that the perpetrators of trafficking in persons are adequately punished, victims are protected, and preventative measures are put in place. The review is pending.

161.A two month national awareness raising campaign on trafficking in persons was launched in November 2014, recognizing women, children and migrant workers as particularly vulnerable groups. Further campaigns targeted at specific segments of the population are being planned.

162.A Standard Operating Procedure Manual and Referral Mechanism to assist victims of trafficking in persons was launched in August 2015, aimed to enable all relevant agencies to work together in a cohesive and harmonious manner. In providing a step by step guide to front line officers, the mechanism seeks to provide the highest standards of protection to victims of trafficking in persons.

163.Numerous capacity building sessions have been held on trafficking in persons for front line officers, law enforcement officers, non-governmental organizations and journalists. An awareness raising session was also held with Members of the National Assembly in March 2014.

Participation in political and public life

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) Paragraph 27, Page 7

164.Please refer to Article 7 on Political and Public Life (Page 9).

165.For the moment, the government has not yet taken a decision about modalities within the Electoral Act to increase the representation of women in political parties.

Education

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) Paragraph 29, Page 7

166.Please refer to Article 10 on Education (Page 16).

Employment

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) Paragraph 31 (a), Page 8

167.The definition and prohibition, the employer’s prevention and sanctions will be included in the reviewed Employment Bill:

•Art. 48 (a) “An employer shall not use explicitly or implicitly a person’s rejection of, or submission to, conduct of a sexual nature and other conduct, physical, verbal or non-verbal, based on sex affecting the dignity of women and men, which is unwelcome unreasonable and offensive to the recipient as a basis for a decision which affects the person’s job”;

•Art. 48 (b) “A worker towards whom such an act is committed is deemed to have been sexually harassed and may initiate the grievance procedure”;

•Art. 48. 5 (a) states the obligation for the employer to ensure that no act of harassment is committed in the enterprise;

•Art. 92. 1 (i) and 93.2 provide adequate sanctions for acts of sexual harassment.

Recommendation: Paragraph 31 (b), Page 8

168.Please refer to “The gender statistics” in Annex 1 (Page 69), for 2011 and 2012.

169.The principle of equal pay for work of equal value will be inserted in the review of the Employment Act, as follows:

•Art. 48(1) “Subject to section 47 (7) (a) all workers performing work is the same, or broadly similar or different but of equal value in terms of demand such as effort, skills, responsibilities, decision-making and conditions of work, will have the right to equal treatment, in particular equal pay, by their employer and any differences must be for a genuine and material reason, as determined by an objective job evaluation.”

Recommendation: Paragraph 31 (c), Page 8

170.Please refer to “The gender statistics” in Annex 1 (Page 69), for 2011 and 2012.

Recommendation: Paragraph 31 (d), Page 8

171.Leaflets on the Protection of Employment of Pregnant Women are distributed during various public events and commemorative international and national days.

172.The reviewed Employment Bill will include the following statement:

•Art. 60, 61 and 64.2 “prohibit the termination of an employment contract when a woman is pregnant and provide measures to encourage women to report such acts.”

Recommendation: Paragraph 31 (e), Page 8

173.Regulation 19A (1) on “Paternity leave” was introduced in the Conditions of Employment Regulations in 2015, through the Employment (Conditions of Employment) (Amendment) Regulations S.I. 26 of 2015.

Recommendation: Paragraph 33, Page 8

174.For the year 2016 and up till now, Small Enterprise Promotion Agency (SEnPA) which is under the purview of the Department of Entrepreneurship Development and Business Innovation has been conducting/facilitating training for women of different age group in the following areas:

•Sewing:

•Basic sewing skills;

•Shorts and trousers;

•Living room decorations;

•Blouse (with collars & sleeves);

•Bedroom decorations;

•Bathroom decorations;

•Baby wear.

•Fresh Flower Arrangements.

175.There were also around 333 women who attended the AFDB training (both Entrepreneurship Skills Development and Entrepreneurship Management) conducted in partnership with the Guy Morel Institute. The trainings, started in August 2016 and ended in February 2017, have helped to equip the participants with knowledge and skills on various aspects of entrepreneurship initiatives. The government has secured funding for future training.

176.The candidates who attended these AFDB trainings can better access the Small and Medium Enterprise Scheme provided by the commercial banks and loans provided by the Small Business Finance Agency (SBFA). Having done the training will benefit them to also access the start-up Grant, offered by the Government of Seychelles, which will soon be operational.

Health

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) Paragraph 35 (a, b, c & d), Page 9

177.There are no changes and some of the issues (a, b and c) are being discussed. No firm decisions have been taken yet.

178.ASFF provides sexual and reproductive health services to complement those offered by the state and private sector.

Climate change and natural disasters

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) Paragraph 37, Page 9

179.Women and men are equally involved in all decision-making processes on climate change. For example, when the National Climate Change Committee (NCCC) came into force in 1992, it was decided that women must be represented on the committee and as a result a woman from a local base women organization SAWOP became a member of the NCCC. NCCC has representatives from both the governmental and non-governmental organizations including NGOs notably Sustainability for Seychelles (S4S), Nature Seychelles, PRASS, and Seychelles Chamber of Commerce for Industry (SCCI), with mandate to prepare, coordinate and monitor the implementation of policies, strategies, legal instruments, plans and programmes of the Seychelles Government to address climate change issues within the country. The representatives of this committee come from various organizations namely the Meteorological Services, ministries such as Environment, Energy and Climate Change, Health, Education, Tourism &Culture, Foreign Affairs & Transport, and NGOs and parastatals such as the Public Utilities Corporation (PUC). Compare to when it started in 1992, to date ten women form part of the NCCC and playing a crucial role in climate change adaptation and mitigation actions.

180.The NCCC has also provided policy and technical guidance during the process for the preparation of the 1stNational Communication as well as the 2nd National Communication which is a requirement under Article 12 of the Convention plus the development and implementation of the Seychelles Climate Change Strategy which was published in 2009.

181.Women’s participation in the implementation of policies and programmes are reflected in the Disaster Risk Management Act 2014 which is the DRM Law for Seychelles. The DRM Act, 2014 was done in a purely transparent consultative process involving female decision-makers from all sectors, private and governmental organizations as well as in the presence of international partners from the IFRC and the World Bank. The Gender secretariat is represented on the steering committee. The Act also makes provision for the establishment of a National Vulnerability Assessment Committee.

182.The committee has been set up as a multi-sectorial, expert committee to assess vulnerability of Hazards to ensure an all-hazard approach to disaster risk reduction (i.e. looking into not just hydro meteorological hazards but also biological, technological, industrial and so on).

Marriage and family relations

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) Paragraph 39 (a, b, c), Page 10

183.The Civil Code of Seychelles (hereinafter referred to as the Code) is currently under review by a Committee chaired by the Chief Justice. The Committee’s role since its inception in 2013 was to revise the existing code and make recommendations to the Government for a new Civil Code. As a result of the exercise the Committee has drafted the Civil Code of Seychelles Bill, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as the Bill).

184.There have been many changes within the social context of Seychelles since the enactment of the Code in 1975, hence why the review was necessary to adapt to these changes.

185.The Bill is presently at the white paper stage and has been uploaded onto the government portal at www.egov.sc. The document has been placed on the website with the aim of providing a basis for further consultations and discussions with interested or affected groups. This procedure will allow final changes to be made before the Bill is formally presented to the National Assembly.

186.It is important to note that the information in the Bill which has been briefed below is yet to receive the force of law, but merely states the proposals which have been made to meet the needs of our modern society.

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) Paragraph 39 (a)

187.The amendment proposed in the Bill has done away with the difference in the minimum age of marriage between a male and a female and will introduce the definition of ‘minor’. A minor will be characterized as a person under the age of 18 who is unmarried. The proposed section in the Bill reads as such; “144(1) A minor cannot contract marriage, but a Judge in Chambers may for serious reasons authorise a minor to contract marriage.”

188.Therefore there is no distinction between the age of either party on the basis of one being a girl of 15 years and the other being a boy of 18 years. The required age for contracting marriage shall be 18 years for all persons, irrespective of gender.

189.(i) There shall no longer be a requirement for the consent of the father of a minor to contract marriage which is contained in articles 46(1) and 47(1). However, this has been replaced in the Bill with the requirement of the consent of a judge.

190.Section 145 in the Bill will simply recognize that there is no marriage where there is no consent.

191.(ii) Article 214 of the Code makes the husband primarily responsible for the family charges.

192.The proposed section 201 of the Bill will maintain that the spouses owe to each other faithfulness, support, assistance and care.

193.Additionally, section 203 will make it such that the spouses shall jointly, by the mere fact of the marriage, undertake the obligation to maintain and bring up their children.

194.(iii) Article 389 of the Code gives the father power to be the administrator of the property of his minor unemancipated children with the exception of such property as may have been given or bequeathed under the express condition that it be administered by a third party.

195.The second limb of this provision has been retained, however the first part is to be amended by section 384 of the Bill by granting the parents power as joint administrators of the property of their minor children.

196.“384 (1) (a) The parents shall be the joint administrators of the property of their minor children with the exception of such property as may have been given or bequeathed under the express condition that it be administered by a third party.”

197.(b) The Code does not recognise relationships outside marriage. This has been an issue for the courts for some years with regards to separation of property where the parties are not married. The Bill will include the concept of en ménage relationships. Whereby, if the en ménage relationship has existed for at least 7 years, the property of the concubines will be shared equally. This will guarantee the protection of the woman’s right in the property although she is not married.

198.(c) The code still distinguishes between legitimate children and children born out of wedlock, as a result the rights of illegitimate children have been limited. The proposed Bill will put an end to any distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children.

National Human Rights Institution

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) Paragraph 41, Page 10

199.The Government of Seychelles is currently in the process of reviewing and strengthening its National Human Rights Institutions, including the office of the Ombudsman and that of the National Human Rights Commission, in view of ensuring that the institutions are effective, independent, and in line with the Paris Principles. The Government of Seychelles is keen to apply for accreditation under the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, and looks forward to doing so once the review and revision of its National Human Rights Institutions are completed.

Data collection

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) Paragraph 43, Page 11

200.Most government agencies collect gender disaggregated data.

Amendment to article 20 (1) of the Convention

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) Paragraph 44, Page 11

201.No updates available.

Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) Paragraph 45, Page 11

202.No updates available.

Dissemination and implementation

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) Paragraph 46, Page 12

203.Please refer to paragraphs (143 & 144 j) above.

Ratification of other treaties

Recommendation: (CEDAW/C/SYC/CO/1-5) Paragraph 47, Page 12

Seychelles is now a party to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Seychelles acceded to the instrument on the 18th of January 2017.