WE MUST TREAT GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AS A ‘PANDEMIC'

By Marco Kijo, SJMC To be in relationship isn’t supposed to be battle field among those who engaged themselves by their willingness or external/internal forces were applied during the process. Gender-based violence incidents have been practiced for years in our societies and there are a different number of stakeholders like TAMWA or TAWLA and government are fighting against those actions and the rights of the person(s) affected. Gender Based Violence as any violence that targets individuals or groups on the basis of their gender which plays on norms and gender exclusions to break people down both physically and emotionally and encompasses all women, men, girls and boys. This is according to United Nation, 2004. An estimated 35% of women worldwide have experienced either physical or sexual violence. In Tanzania women seemed to be most violated because of different media reports but men are also affected once in a minimal number. The region from the lake zone of Tanzania like Mara and Mwanza are mostly affected by GBV but also in the Northern part of the country, some women are affected for various reasons. GBV actions are happening for various reasons, such as depending on the personal behavior, Culture norms, and economic status of an individual or entire society. As we reach a position to term Gender Based Violence as a ‘Pandemic' it’s because they increase in number in our society on both men and women, but most of these harmful actions are done to women and left some of them with disability and others they face death. Personal behavior: can inherited or learn it when growing up, you can find young one with rude attitude and then you look to his father or uncle, they are similar.

Others learn from their school friends or on streets were they spend most of time alone. They can learn bad habit like abusing drugs, for instance smoking of marijuana or sniffing other imported drugs (cocaine, heroin or mandrax) plus alcohol abuse. Those deeds can generate a generation with father and mother with attitude of not being afraid causing harm to others. Some of the GBV are after smoking weed (marijuana) or alcohol abuse at which drive a guy to beat or rape a woman. According to Tanzania constitution and it’s laws is illegal to cause harm and might be cause a death to another one unintentional can make an accused to be sentenced to prison for life. Hassan Mayunga, Senior State Attorney, President's Office Ethics Secretariat insist on the society to be aware on their habit of beating their partner. “…you may think that to beat your wife or fiancé is just a normal act, but it’s consequence may results into life sentence to life prison when the death occur”. Under Penal code cap 16 section 198 says that, “any person who commits the felony of manslaughter is liable to imprisonment for life”. Cultural norms: Early or forcing marriage may results into death, this is when the girl give birth due to the fact she’s not ready to perform delivery process. Another cause of death is aftermath of reaction of a girl(woman) she’s not ready to start a family with a man forced to marry whom could be too older than her. Happy Nyasumo (18) of Serengeti district residence attempted first-degree murder to her husband Bebe Mbogo (26) after 14 days of their marriage. Happy was forced to marry Bebe after her family received several cattle as a bribe, she wasn’t ready to marry him and she decided to cut his husband’s throat three times with a machete after finishing making love during night time when she was forced by her husband to sleep with him, the district commissioner of Serengeti Mr. Nurdin Babu confirmed. “The incident was reported by her father (Happy) after an alert from Bebe's neighbor, that they heard a screaming from his in-laws house at midnight and when do follow up they found Bebe lying on the floor and bloodshed around him and Happy was calm”. Said Mr. Nurdin during press conference held at Serengeti district central police. By looking on this incident, the respective society becomes in dilemma to blame a just married girl for killing her husband or her family for putting her on that situation! Miss Halima, Happy's friend quoted, “my friend was under psychological pressure which affected her, she had a boyfriend with whom they are in good relation and they are promised to tie the knot in the coming year”. A study conducted in Serengeti District in Tanzania reported that the majority of women had positive attitude towards GBV against them, which is likely to slow down the process of eradicating GBV. In this study woman argued that beating may result into injuries and permanent disabilities, therefore nobody enjoy it. On the other hand, when asked to clarify the myth; some male admitted that normally women enjoy being beaten because it is associated with jealousy, assuming that men must beat their wives to prove that they love them. Therefore, men use the false myth in order to justify GBV. In Tanzania, GBV is going wide; we look at the Tanzania Demographic Health Survey (TDHS) conducted in 2021 found that 44% of every married woman has experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime. Within the family even the spouse is forced to have sex, this also is rape in other way but many who experience it remains silent. Some are afraid to be divorced by their spouse or to reserve respect for their spouse or partner. Gender-based violence (GBV) undermines the health, dignity, security, and autonomy of its victims, yet it remains shrouded in a culture of silence. Victims of violence can suffer sexual and reproductive health consequences, including forced and unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, fistula, sexually transmitted infections and HIV, and even death. UNFPA is one of the UN's lead agencies working to further gender equality and women’s empowerment and to address the physical and emotional consequences of GBV. UNFPA’s programs offer psychosocial assistance, medical treatment and rape kits to survivors, and promote the right of all women and girls to live free of violence and abuse which is one of the human rights. The culture of society to remain silence or they are not proactive when the gender based violence happens around them increase the number of them. In area like Zanzibar some police officers(Men) they think women rape is not they are issue or they don’t understand it. "Gender-based violence is persistent in Zanzibar but women are not confident in reporting these issues," says deputy sergeant Mauwa Saleh, a police officer for 25 years. She deploy that after asked by Rebecca Grant, who is a freelance journalist based in Brooklyn. She covers women's health, reproductive rights, and gender-based violence. Mauwa continues "In the past, there were very few cases because victims were afraid and there was no special handling or privacy." Many GBV were conducted with close people like neighbor, grandfather, brothers, uncle’s, cousins, father’s, stepfather. According to Tanzania annual Crime and Traffic Incidents Statistics report, published by the National Bureau of Statistics, gender-based violence against children "mostly occurs in the communities especially within a family". Poverty is the catalyst of member of the family to experience GBV among themselves, sharing same bedroom between the old and young ones. Moreover member or neighbor with good economic muscle can persuade the girl with his money or gifts and having sex with her and she'll remains silence in a afraid of that pipe to be cut off and she’s in need. International Food Policy Research Institute on their blog article “How is economic security linked to gender- based violence? New insights from the Sexual Violence Research Initiative Forum 2019”. Write on Tanzania, Using baseline data from the evaluation of a livelihoods plus live skills training for adolescents living in households participating in the national cash transfer program, 1 in 5 adolescents aged 15-19 started relationships for financial reasons, often with the promise of a "better life," but girls who got pregnant were often abandoned by partners. Gender Based Violence to women and children may results into unexpected pregnancy and health complication like HIV or other STI's. And this needs early examination about 72 hours after assault. Sexual harassments to the women and children mostly are conducting without using any protection which leads to the transmission of those dangerous diseases and unwanted pregnancy also they can be early pregnancy to the children. Some tribes when a girl conceive an early pregnant she is forced to have another problem of getting early marriage to the someone who do the violence so they can clear the shame in the society they present. Women exposed to the men violence may undergo such a behavior like use and alcohol abuse or suicidal tendency. As man remains a breadwinner and heads of the family automatically mute the voice of woman to be heard especially when they face physical gender based violence. In South Africa during this Covid-19 pandemic era it has been easier to get some one arrested for breaking down lockdown regulations than to get the authority to es to respond the calls from women beaten to destatusonomic sstatus: The relationship between economic insecurity and gender-based violence is complex. Empowering women can help eliminate hunger, food scarcity also leads to increased gender-based violence. In Malawi, where a 2013 survey revealed that 61% of women and girls said they had experienced sexual violence and 64% had experienced physical violence. To empower women it’s not an option if society wants to eradicate this violence among women, when they have economic power they can make decision and provide needs and wants on their family and that manhood attitude can be perished. Financial institute should assist women by giving them loan with affordable interest. Government also should pass laws and policy which are in favor to women. In a few, some part of Kenya and Tanzania at Kilimanjaro region men’s are beaten by their partners (wife) because they don’t have economic power, they don’t want to work instead they spend most of their time on drinking alcohol. We must use available resources to overcome and support all women and girl whom experiencing violence. Gender-based violence is a major human rights issue, predominantly affecting women and girls, regardless of class, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, disability status or culture. The author is the SJMC Journalism student, who participated in the BORESHA HABARI Projects trainings 0713372194