Source: IPPMedia
Domestic violence is any act or attitude that is likely to result in physical, sexual, cultural or psychological harm or suffering or death, which occurs in the family or community.

Principal domestic violence includes gender-based violence in which a woman is mostly the common victim. It is a result of the unequal status and power relations between women and men in the family and society in Tanzania.

According to a study recently carried by this paper domestic in Bunda District in Mara region, violence is associated with behavioural and psychological problems of its perpetrators and those of the victims. These difficulties are driven by external factors such as social isolation, inadequate communication, stress, alcohol abuse, drugs and poor self-control.

Women who are the victims of the ordeal do not report whatever gender based violence on fearing to be punished by their husbands. Due to that factor cooperation between the victimized and the law bodies find it difficult because women are afraid of being punished and isolated by the community they live in.

Therefore without legal retribution, assailants rarely face consequences for their actions and the victims are less likely to report the abuse.

It was also revealed that sometimes rape, sexual harassment and physical attacks are so stigmatized such that the victims remain silent even if there are laws in place. They don't report their ordeals thinking that being sexually harassed was part of their husbands' responsibilities to treat them.

A survey conducted in Bunda District with sponsorship of the Tanzania Media Women's Association (TAMWA) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) revealed that gender based violence has down trodden women leading them to be affected economically, socially and healthily.

In most African societies, including Tanzania, women are accustomed to accept, tolerate even rationalize domestic violence. They may remain silent about such experience.

For example, it was revealed that there is a common belief among the Kurya, Wasizaki, Waikizu and even Wasukuma women that if a husband does not batter her, he does not love her. This shows how this unlawfully practice is accepted in some of the communities in Tanzania.

Sexual violence
In Mara region, the prevalence of sexual violence is very high. Currently, spouses or partners account for 48.1 per cent of the perpetrators.

Marital violence
Among women aged 15 to 49 who were asked if they have ever experienced physical abuse perpetrated by the current or former husbands, 17 per cent said they experienced physical violence while 36 per cent said they experienced emotional violence. Mara was again in the top 5 regions in this category.

In order to eliminate this cruelty stakeholders plead to everyone in the society to be an agent of change. The society must ensure that each one respects the rights of others by saying no to torture, cruelty and all forms of gender based violence.

They further plead to all women who are victims of torture to break their silence by reporting to police stations and any other authorities for intervention.

The government should also take stern measures to GBV perpetrators and build shelter homes with counseling services to victims of GBV to enable them recover from the trauma instead of the current trend where most of them report the incidents at the police.

Many governments across the globe continue to turn a blind eye to GBV violence. Findings show that there are currently around 603 million women who live in countries where domestic violence is not outlawed and more than 2.6 billion live in countries where rape within marriage is not considered a crime.

This investigative survey that has revealed all these cruelties was conducted in wards of Hunyari, Mihingo and Kunzugu. Local leaders and other key stakeholders living in these areas have suggested that if activist organizations could invest much and focus in rural areas, the problem will be eliminated.

In the district, women who have experienced such violence can suffer isolation and depression and have increased drug and alcohol dependency or even poor reproductive health. They may become unable to work or care for their families.

Revolutionary activist society tend to support minorities by saying YES to society's core values assuming that these are morally acceptable, and activists must also be rebels who can confidently say a loud NO to social conditions and public policies that violate these values.

It is not enough, however, to protest; activists also need to be social change agents who work to educate and involve the general public to oppose present policies and seek positive, constructive solutions. And finally, they must be reformers who work with the official political and judicial structures to get solutions incorporated into laws and governmental policies and accepted as the conventional wisdom of the day.

Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and informal civil society groups have much influence on people's lives, and even more so in the remote rural areas. Usually, these smaller organizations operate at grass roots level, particularly with the poor, disadvantaged and marginalized people, in helping to improve their social situation and living conditions.

Tanzania Media Women Association (TAMWA) being one of the CBOs in Tanzania cooperating with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is working closely performing activism works to end GBV to minority groups.

TAMWA and other activist organization in country were challenged for concentrating in towns and urban centres while ignoring rural areas where GBV has rooted due to traditional beliefs, low understanding and ignorance of law of village dwellers.

An Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Rose Mbaga of Bunda police station said that very few human rights activists have visited the Bunda district compared to Tarime district which is widely known as the hub of GBV in Mara region.

Mbaga noted that if activists were concentrating in villages as it is in towns the situation could have changed, but denying villages have paved a chance to GBV perpetrators to violate minority rights especially women and children.

"More awareness on laws, human rights and legal assistance is needed in rural areas where violence is dominated," she said.

She said the police is facing many challenges including lack of enough police officers, working equipment like cars to enable officers reach at incidences on time when they get a call, but due to these challenges they are not fully fighting GBV which if the activists organizations were around it could be more helpful.

Gender-Based Violence (GBV) at the international level is prohibited under Article 4 of the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, 1993.

It calls upon state parties to condemn gender-based violence irrespective of cultural, custom or religions of the particular area. Also, the Maputo Protocol, 2003 calls on all African member states to condemn the gender-based violence. Article 4(1) of the Maputo Protocol states that;

Every woman shall be entitled to respect for her life and the integrity and security of her person. All forms of exploitation, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment shall be prohibited.

The Maputo Protocol has gone further to prohibit marital rape or unwanted sex as a form of domestic violence. To reduce the prevalence of gender-based violence, sexual offences special provisions act (SOSPA) of 1998 was enacted to make it a criminal offence.

The gender-based violence agenda has also been incorporated in the National Development Vision 2025, the Women and Gender Development Policy of 2000 and a National Plan of Action for the Prevention and Eradication of violence Against Women and Children 2001-2015.

Prevalence of gender based violence also, civil society organizations have contributed extensively in the campaign to end gender-based violence. For example, the commemoration of 16 days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is normally organised by civil societies.

 

• Tanzania