Domestic Violence

In Tanzania, the family, which has been regarded previously as the “ideal basic unit of

the society” where there is support, love, understanding and care, is becoming the most oppressive including serious violence, hostility, conflict sometimes tolerated over a long period of years. The Kiswahili newspaper Majira wrote “Tanzania katika ngazi ya familia nyingi amani hakuna. Wanawake wengi wanakumbana na ukatili kiasi kwamba wengi wamepoteza maisha au kuwa walemavu. Translating that Tanzania lacks peace at family level resulting in many women being killed or disabled. Domestic violence, the most pathetic aspect of violence against women and girls, is prevalent throughout Tanzania society, mostly because it is considered an acceptable practice. According to a recent study[1] on women’s health and domestic violence, Tanzania has high rates of domestic violence. The research revealed that approximately 48%[2] of Tanzanian women report that they have experienced violence in their lifetime, while 56% of the women interviewed for this study consider violence to be a normal part of their lives.[3] The study also demonstrated that women in Tanzania currently take very few actions to address the domestic violence they face; about one-third (1/3) of the women who had experienced domestic violence had told no one of their experience, and 60% of all women experiencing violence had never gone for help from any formal service or authority. The majority of women remain in violent relationships because leaving would mean losing their homes, other property and their children.

Furthermore, in a study carried out in Moshi between year 2002-2003, it was found that 21 per cent of the 1,444 women interviewed were threatened with physical abuse, or coerced into intercourse by a partner during the previous 12 months, 26% reported such incidences at any time during the last 12 months[4].

Analyses of intimate partnerships reveal not only a high incidences of domestic violence against women but also that the violence emerges from the deeper cultural assumptions about women and their worth within relationships, families and communities[5]. Widespread gender inequality and women’s low status means they are vulnerable to domestic violence and with it, a host of negative health and quality of life outcomes.

[1] World Health Organization (2005)

[2] 41% in Dar-es-Salaam and 56% in Mbeya, WHO Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence (2005), World Health Organization, Geneva

[3] Ibid

[4] TGNP (2006)

[5] Blanc et al. 1996; Heise et al. 1999, WHO 2002.