ACTIVISTS working against Gender- Based Violence (GBV) will on Thursday meet with journalists to share survey results on the state of the problem, conducted in 10 districts of Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar.

A statement from TAMWA's Executive Director, Valerie Msoka, said the survey results have been compiled from a data collection exercise done in the past two months, in the 10 districts, aimed at identifying peoples' perspectives on GBV, family structures and response mechanisms at the village and district level.

She said the survey report will guide and assist partner organizations to prepare collective strategies against GBV acts which mainly affect women and children. "Our organizations have similar intentions of preventing GBV, building awareness of and against GBV, and dispensing justice for those whose rights are being violated.

By joining forces, we believe the campaign against and the awareness of GBV will be greater", she said. Partner organizations in the exercise are the Tanzania Women Lawyers Association (TAWLA), Zanzibar Female Lawyers Association (ZAFELA), Crisis Resolving Centre (CRC), Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP) and TAMWA Mainland and Zanzibar.

She said TAWLA, CRC and ZAFELA will deal with the legal aspect of GBV including training on human rights and providing legal aid; TGNP will offer gender knowledge in order to ensure gender equality and TAMWA will be responsible for information dissemination through multimedia channels.

Their collective action will also mobilize society to act against GBV. The 10 Districts in which the survey was done and which will benefit from the programme known as Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (GEWE), include Wete (Pemba north), West (Unguja), South Unguja (South Unguja), Kisarawe (Coast), Newala (Mtwara), Lindi rural (Lindi), Mvomero (Morogoro) and two districts of Kinondoni and Ilala (Dar es Salaam).