Tanzanians Oppose Physical Force Against Women, See Domestic Violence As a Criminal Matter

16 August 2023
Afrobarometer (Accra)
By Derick Msafiri

Citizens cite gender-based violence as the most important women's-rights issue their government and society must address

Key findings

  • ▪ Tanzanians see gender-based violence (GBV) as the most important women's-rights issue that their government and society must address.
  • ▪ Eight out of 10 citizens (80%) say violence against women and girls is "not very common" or "not at all common" in their communities.
  • ▪ More than eight in 10 Tanzanians (83%) say it is "never justified" for a man to use physical force to discipline his wife.
  • ▪ A majority (59%) of respondents say it is unlikely that a woman who reports GBV to the authorities will be criticised, harassed, or shamed by others in the community, but 40% consider such negative consequences "somewhat" or "very" likely. o Most Tanzanians (92%) believe that the police are likely to take cases of GBV seriously.
  • ▪ Almost two-thirds (64%) of citizens say domestic violence should be treated as a criminal matter rather than as a private matter to be resolved within the family.

Four in 10 Tanzanian women have experienced physical violence, and 17% have suffered sexual violence. Only about half of survivors seek assistance. Three in 10 girls experience sexual violence before the age of 18, and more than one in three are married as minors (United Republic of Tanzania, 2016; UNICEF Tanzania, 2011).

While the country's legal framework reflects its commitment to fighting gender-based violence (GBV), including national action plans on violence against women and against children, the World Bank's (2022) Tanzania Gender Based Violence Assessment notes that its laws lack prohibitions against domestic violence and marital rape and that enforcement suffers from weak investigations, under-reporting, and corruption.

In collaboration with United Nations agencies and civil society organisations, the government has undertaken a range of initiatives to address GBV, including the creation of one-stop centres across the country to support women and girls with psychological counselling, health care, and legal services. The police, whose stations have established gender desks, report a decline in GBV cases from 42,414 in 2020 to 29,373 in 2021 (Legal and Human Rights Centre, 2022).

This dispatch reports on a special survey module included in the Afrobarometer Round 9 (2021/2023) questionnaire to explore Africans' experiences and perceptions of gender based violence.

Survey findings show that an overwhelming majority of Tanzanians say it is never justified for a man to use physical force to discipline his wife, and that most citizens say violence against women and girls is not a common occurrence in their community. Even so, gender-based violence (GBV) ranks No. 1 among the most important women's-rights issues that Tanzanians want their government and society to address. A majority consider GBV a criminal matter requiring the involvement of law enforcement rather than a private matter to be handled within the family.

Most citizens say the police are likely to take GBV cases seriously, but many also consider it likely that a woman who reports such violence to the police will be criticised, harassed, or shamed by others in the community.

Derick Msafiri Derick Msafiri is an intern for REPOA, the Afrobarometer national
partner in Tanzania.

Read the original article on Afrobarometer.

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