Women's Rights Organisation

Downloads

Photo gallery

Contact Us

Kivulini Strategic Direction, Message from Board of Directors

Our Development Partners

Kivulini Approach to Preventing   Domestic Violence

Violence Against Women Situation      

Kivulini Stakeholders

Brief: International Women's Day

Policy Context and Challenges

Currently, two strategies have been adopted:  First, in early 2005, the Tanzania government finalized The National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty.  MKUKUTA goals are three-fold:

(i) growth of the economy and reduction in income poverty,

(ii) improvement of quality of life and social well-being, and

(iii) governance and accountability. 

Under goal 2, MKUKUTA has put eradicating domestic violence and sexual violence as an area of concern. In particular, MKUKUTA makes three main commitments:

 ·         To accelerate legislative processes to enable women to access legal mechanisms;

·         To raise awareness and provide education to communities on the consequences of domestic violence.

·         To eliminate sexual abuse and domestic violence

 MKUKUTA states that the government will “pursue legislative and administrative actions to protect women against violence, promote their right to seek redress, protection and mechanisms to dispense justice to perpetrators.”  However, the MKUKUTA targets do not give concrete indicators for women and girls subjected to violence against them.  There is an urgent need for a comprehensive study on sexual abuse and domestic violence in Tanzania[1] in order to target the efforts to eradicate and to measure progress.

 The second strategy is The National Multi-Sectoral Framework on HIV/AIDS which has identified women and girls as more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS due to cultural, social, biological and economic factors. 

 Further, the government of Tanzania has responded to the outcries of the public and CSOs on the need to review change and repeal some of the outdated and unfavourable laws impeding the human rights of women and girls.  The Law Reform Commission was set up in the early 1990s and given the mandate to review laws in line with the Constitution and Bills of Rights.  Twelve laws were recommended and presented to the National Assembly for review or change.   However, of these only four have been passed by the National Assembly:  1) Sexual Offences (Special Provisions) Act of 1998; 2) The Village Land Act No. 4 of 1999; Village Act 1999; and 4) the Marriage Act.  The Village Acts address the issues of women owning land, which had not been possible.