1
N
30
%
27
2
3
4 or more
36
24
22
32
21
20
Total
112
100
Table 2: Number of children amongst married clients
The majority of married clients, regardless of sex, had between one and three children, as shown
in the table above. On average, married clients had between 2 and 3 children who were alive at
the time that they sought assistance from ZTVP.
2.3 Employment in Zimbabwe
Excluding cases where no information was provided (36 cases or 14% of all cases),
approximately one fifth of clients seen by ZTVP indicated that they were unemployed (21%)
prior to their arrival in South Africa. Considering that the majority of Zimbabweans were
employed prior to coming to South Africa, the data obtained seem to challenge the commonly
held belief in South Africa that Zimbabweans are coming into the country in search of
employment. These statistics show that the majority of torture victims were employed in
Zimbabwe and were therefore fleeing from violence not merely seeking better economic
opportunities in SA. The table below provides greater detail about the types of occupations held
by clients in Zimbabwe and of the valuable skills that Zimbabweans are bringing into South
Africa.
Unskilled occupations
Semi-skilled occupations
Unemployed
Skilled occupations
Student
N
74
58
49
47
3
%
32
25
21
20
1
Total
231
100
Table 3: Occupations held by clients whilst in Zimbabwe
Almost half of all Zimbabweans in the sample (45%) worked in skilled or semi-skilled
occupations whilst in Zimbabwe. More specifically, one fifth of them (20%) were employed in
skilled occupations and worked as teachers, nurses, accountants, journalists, social workers and
IT specialists, amongst others. In addition, a quarter of them held semi-skilled occupations and
worked as electricians, machinists, mechanics, shop assistants and managers. Men were
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