Protecting Women in Tanzania: Prevention of Gender-based Violence through Indigenous Approaches

Cooperating countries: Ethiopia and Austria

Coordinating institution: Institute of Social Work (Tanzania), Dr. Zena Mnasi Mabeyo, zena.mabeyo@isw.ac.tz

Partner institution: Carinthia University of Applied Sciences (Austria)

Project duration: 1 July 2021 - 30 June 2023

Budget: EUR 20.000
 

Abstract:

Women in Tanzania constitute a marginalized and vulnerable group that persistently experience various forms of abuse and violence, including domestic violence and sexual abuse. This violates their basic rights for survival, non-oppression and non-discrimination and hinder their smooth integration into society and attainment of social and economic development. Violence also negatively affects women’s health and well-being and contributes to female poverty.

Gender stereotypes, based on cultural norms, are often used to justify violence against women. However, there are also encouraging cultural attitudes towards women, yet these aspects are under-researched in the Tanzanian context. Hence, this project aims to explore culturally relevant, contextually appropriate and sustainable solutions to the problem through conducting an empirical research on indigenous approaches, norms and values that are deemed suitable to protect women and girls and safeguard their basic rights. Planned key activities include:

1. Qualitative empirical research on norms and values that protect women from violence and abuse in three selected study areas;
2. Organization of a dissemination workshop in order to share the results of the research with key stakeholders;
3. Publication of three empirically based journal articles;
4. Transfer of research findings into social work education and training;
5. Communication of research findings to the wider public by means of public relations activities (“third mission”).

The project builds on previous work of the Tanzanian research team on culturally relevant indigenous models and local knowledge systems of problem solving and their subsequent integration into social work education and practice. The project is also another step in a long-lasting partnership between the two participating institutions: Since 2007, several joint research projects with corresponding publications as well as staff and student exchanges have been successfully implemented.

Summary:

The “Protecting Women in Tanzania: Prevention of Gender-Based Violence through Indigenous Approaches – PROWOMEN-TZ is a research-based project implemented by the Institute of Social Work (ISW) of Dar es Salaam Tanzania in collaboration with Carinthia University of Applied Social Sciences (CUAS) of Austria. The official take-off of the project was expected to be in July 2021 and end in July 2023. In actual -implementation, and due to uncertainties caused by the surge of COVID-19 pandemic, the Project officially started at the beginning of October 2021. Although it was initially planned that the Austrian Partner would be the coordinating Institution of the Project, in actual implementation this changed. Based on the recommendations of one reviewer, the project coordination and management roles and functions were transferred to the Institute of Social Work.

The research that this Project embarked on aimed to explore norms and values that are deemed suitable in protecting women and girls against gender-based violence. It sought to answer the following key questions. 
i. What are the social norms and values that support non-violent acts against women in the study areas?
ii. To what extent are the identified norms and values maintained as part of the individual, family and community practice in the study areas? 
iii. How effective are the norms and values in preventing abuse against women? 
iv. To what extent has the globalization process affected impediment or reinforcement of such norms and values? 
v. To what extent can the norms and values be mainstreamed into social work education and practice

Major Research Findings:

i) Views regarding the prevalence of GBV
There were similarities and differences in views raised by the participants from the study areas. For instance, whereas many participants in Mara region viewed the trend of GBV decreasing, the majority of those in Mbeya and Tanga were of different opinion. They considered the problem to be on the increase. Findings also show that there varied views regarding the nature of GBV acts that were considered to be either on increase or decrease. In Tanga, they are non-physical, mostly emotional and economical. In Mbeya, physical as well as intimate partner homicide, rape and acts of injustice were mentioned to be on the increase whereas in Mara the decrease in GBV was associated largely with physical violence. The working hypothesis determining the difference could be that the definition of GBV in Mara and Mbeya is limited to physical violence, whereas in Tanga it transcends beyond physical violence. This is consistent with the dominant less aggressive and non-violent cultural values that mostly prevail in Tanga. Despite these views, there was a small portion of participants that was not sure whether the problem was increasing or decreasing. They attributed their reasons to the influence of media. They were of the views that the media today may be amplifying the situation or the freedom of speech make people to open up contrary to the past when the role of the media and freedom to publicly speak out some problems was limited.  

ii) Factors contributing to the rising or decreasing rates of GBV
Views regarding factors that contribute to the prevalence of GBV were sought. Participants identified different factors. Those who were of the view that the problem was increasing they associated it with factors such as: lack life skills, life pressure that lead to lack of time for families to be together and inculcated the positive norms, parents in particular men not taking their full responsibilities, moral decay, uncritical emulation of western culture and people entering into marriage without having adequate time to study and understand each other and each other’s behaviour-this practice was termed as Quick marriages or “ndoa za fasta fasta’’in swahili.
On the other hand, participants who said that the problem was decreasing they pointed out the contributing factors such as: increased intervention including close follow up by different actors, implementation of educational and social change campaigns, increased government commitment  in addressing the problem through pragmatic actions including, enactment  and enforcement of anti GBV laws, policies  and guidelines and increased knowledge of people about their rights and availability of space to voice about it.

iii) Views regarding norms that protect women against GBV
Among others, our study strived to explore and gather views from the study participants regarding norms and approaches that have been in existent in their communities that may be considered protective to women against GBV. The most dominant norms that were mentioned can be categorized as follows:  pre-and post-natal care arrangements, rites of passage and initiation rituals, norms that protect women against dangers, marriage arrangements and rituals and communal sanctions for perpetrators.  Further description of these norms will be found in the two planned publications.
Our findings further show that despite availability of these norms, their integration into daily life and practice remains challenging. Various factors contribute to this challenge. They range from the influence of globalization, religion to lack of knowledge and time of parents to pass on and enforce the good norms. However, one outstanding challenge that hinder the integration of the norms that was also observed in this study is the fact that the identified protective norms focus on what women can do to protect themselves from GBV, excluding men, who are equal partners in GBV. Therefore, we recommend that for social workers to effectively integrate these norms and approaches into their practice and combat GBV, they need to adopt a transformative and more inclusive approaches.