Mamshungulii
Senior Member
- May 3, 2023
- 175
- 88
Tanzania still does not have an Act on the protection and prevention of Domestic violence to act as a deterrent and also to punish offenders as well as Tanzania does not have an act on Gender Equality.
The 1977 constitution, on its bill of rights and duties (Article 12 to 29 of this Constitution) bars discrimination on the basis of sex and addresses only the de jure (letter of the law) and not the de facto (the practical effect on the law on the intended population). this falls short of the definition of the CEDAW which requires state parties to address both the law and the practice.
Penal Code Cap 16 is relatively blunt on GBV in many ways including the fact that it does not criminalize marital rape and it does not have specific provisions on GBV.
GBV is a complex problem with roots in attitudes and behaviours deeply engrained in culture that are difficult to change. GBV refers to a wider set of issues than domestic violence (DV) and can take many forms, such as sexual assault and rape, trafficking and sexual harassment at school and in the workplace, or a preference for boys over girls through sex-selective abortions.
Although men and boys are also affected, women and girls predominantly suffer from GBV. The fundamental cause of GBV is gender inequality, the persistent attitudes and beliefs that see women as inferior to men and less worthy of rights and control over their own lives.
The effects of GBV in Tanzania are not limited to individuals and families, but GBV also negatively affects Tanzanian’s economic development. The cost of GBV in the form of DV against women in Tanzania, in out-of-pocket expenditures and lost earnings, is huge in the national gross domestic product (GDP). Furthermore, it was found that women who had experienced violence earned less than those who had not, representing another significant drain on the national economy.
Releasing national data on Domestic Violence against Women in Tanzania by LHRC in 2023 marked a big step forward in providing an understanding of the issue and reflects the needs for the Government's efforts to end domestic violence.
GBV not only occurs in domestic settings but also in public and other environments. Therefore, it is important to have a broader view of GBV that recognises the multiplicity of its forms and the gaps in implementation of relevant policies and laws to move beyond DV. But more still needs to be done, including creating a general awareness and greater coordination among all stakeholders working to prevent and address GBV.
Combating GBV is not the business or task of a single ministry, it's everybody's business. It requires the commitment of all policy-makers and programmers to work under one comprehensive framework, the National Action Plan on GBV, and full accountability to ensure these commitments are fulfilled. Only then can we expect real progress in fighting the social menace of GBV that affects so many women and girls in Tanzania.
Real progress can only be made if we look beyond the focus on DV, to address GBV in all its forms. More needs to be done to enable men and boys to discover their role in preventing violence and in protecting and respecting women.
The consequences of GBV are considerable for victims, families and communities. They include negative health, financial/economic, social and personal development consequences and increased vulnerability to additional GBV. Importantly, these consequences play out over the lifetime of the person affected and may extend to future generations. The children of GBV victims may also suffer adverse health consequences. For instance, the children of domestic violence victims were more likely to demonstrate a range of behavioural problems and sometimes death of the victims.
It is a call to Tanzanians to commit themselves to preventing and addressing the consequences of GBV, in close partnership with the Government, development and civil society partners. Civil society and the private sector need to continue engaging in ending violence against women and girls, working with survivors to empower them and making sure their experiences are taken into consideration in the development of responses. GBV is one of the key indicators to monitor the achievement of Millennium Development on gender equality.
This writing recommends that: -Two key laws if enacted will underpin the legislative framework for addressing GBV in Tanzania. If enacted: -
• The Gender Equality Law will explicitly forbid acts of violence for gender reasons and prescribes gender equality measures that address some of the structural drivers of GBV.
• The DV Law will focus explicitly on domestic violence perpetrated by family members within the family. Although the DV Law makes all forms of DV (physical, sexual, economic and psychological) illegal.
• Strengthen coherence and coordination across laws, policies and interventions by designating a single agency with the authority to address GBV and gender inequality and ensure accountability.
• Review existing related legislation (including laws, codes, decrees, plans or regulations) to identify gaps and ensure clear, consistent and enforceable legislation on GBV.
• Intensify efforts to build duty bearers’ knowledge of legislation, increase their capacity to implement it in a gender-sensitive, survivor-focused manner with responsiveness towards GBV and decrease impunity.
• Continue expansion of interventions that engage men and boys
• Build on research agenda developments to broaden the evidence base for programming to address forms of GBV relevant to Tanzania establish and strengthen a unified data collection system and a planning, monitoring and evaluation framework as well as ensure sex and age disaggregated data on all forms of GBV.
Because GBV is driven by inequitable gender norms and attitudes, it is essential that all sectors, groups and individuals in society be engaged through systemic transformative interventions and
communication campaigns
The 1977 constitution, on its bill of rights and duties (Article 12 to 29 of this Constitution) bars discrimination on the basis of sex and addresses only the de jure (letter of the law) and not the de facto (the practical effect on the law on the intended population). this falls short of the definition of the CEDAW which requires state parties to address both the law and the practice.
Penal Code Cap 16 is relatively blunt on GBV in many ways including the fact that it does not criminalize marital rape and it does not have specific provisions on GBV.
GBV is a complex problem with roots in attitudes and behaviours deeply engrained in culture that are difficult to change. GBV refers to a wider set of issues than domestic violence (DV) and can take many forms, such as sexual assault and rape, trafficking and sexual harassment at school and in the workplace, or a preference for boys over girls through sex-selective abortions.
Although men and boys are also affected, women and girls predominantly suffer from GBV. The fundamental cause of GBV is gender inequality, the persistent attitudes and beliefs that see women as inferior to men and less worthy of rights and control over their own lives.
The effects of GBV in Tanzania are not limited to individuals and families, but GBV also negatively affects Tanzanian’s economic development. The cost of GBV in the form of DV against women in Tanzania, in out-of-pocket expenditures and lost earnings, is huge in the national gross domestic product (GDP). Furthermore, it was found that women who had experienced violence earned less than those who had not, representing another significant drain on the national economy.
Releasing national data on Domestic Violence against Women in Tanzania by LHRC in 2023 marked a big step forward in providing an understanding of the issue and reflects the needs for the Government's efforts to end domestic violence.
GBV not only occurs in domestic settings but also in public and other environments. Therefore, it is important to have a broader view of GBV that recognises the multiplicity of its forms and the gaps in implementation of relevant policies and laws to move beyond DV. But more still needs to be done, including creating a general awareness and greater coordination among all stakeholders working to prevent and address GBV.
Combating GBV is not the business or task of a single ministry, it's everybody's business. It requires the commitment of all policy-makers and programmers to work under one comprehensive framework, the National Action Plan on GBV, and full accountability to ensure these commitments are fulfilled. Only then can we expect real progress in fighting the social menace of GBV that affects so many women and girls in Tanzania.
Real progress can only be made if we look beyond the focus on DV, to address GBV in all its forms. More needs to be done to enable men and boys to discover their role in preventing violence and in protecting and respecting women.
The consequences of GBV are considerable for victims, families and communities. They include negative health, financial/economic, social and personal development consequences and increased vulnerability to additional GBV. Importantly, these consequences play out over the lifetime of the person affected and may extend to future generations. The children of GBV victims may also suffer adverse health consequences. For instance, the children of domestic violence victims were more likely to demonstrate a range of behavioural problems and sometimes death of the victims.
It is a call to Tanzanians to commit themselves to preventing and addressing the consequences of GBV, in close partnership with the Government, development and civil society partners. Civil society and the private sector need to continue engaging in ending violence against women and girls, working with survivors to empower them and making sure their experiences are taken into consideration in the development of responses. GBV is one of the key indicators to monitor the achievement of Millennium Development on gender equality.
This writing recommends that: -Two key laws if enacted will underpin the legislative framework for addressing GBV in Tanzania. If enacted: -
• The Gender Equality Law will explicitly forbid acts of violence for gender reasons and prescribes gender equality measures that address some of the structural drivers of GBV.
• The DV Law will focus explicitly on domestic violence perpetrated by family members within the family. Although the DV Law makes all forms of DV (physical, sexual, economic and psychological) illegal.
• Strengthen coherence and coordination across laws, policies and interventions by designating a single agency with the authority to address GBV and gender inequality and ensure accountability.
• Review existing related legislation (including laws, codes, decrees, plans or regulations) to identify gaps and ensure clear, consistent and enforceable legislation on GBV.
• Intensify efforts to build duty bearers’ knowledge of legislation, increase their capacity to implement it in a gender-sensitive, survivor-focused manner with responsiveness towards GBV and decrease impunity.
• Continue expansion of interventions that engage men and boys
• Build on research agenda developments to broaden the evidence base for programming to address forms of GBV relevant to Tanzania establish and strengthen a unified data collection system and a planning, monitoring and evaluation framework as well as ensure sex and age disaggregated data on all forms of GBV.
Because GBV is driven by inequitable gender norms and attitudes, it is essential that all sectors, groups and individuals in society be engaged through systemic transformative interventions and
communication campaigns
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