Since 1991 there has been a global campaign to bring more awareness into gender-based-violence and launch opposition to end GBV . A campaign – “16 days against gender based violence” was held across Tanzania to raise awareness of this dynamic and call an end to turning a blind-eye to such violations
In Tanzania, the GBV issue is deeply rooted in culture and norms, particularly in the North of the country. A typical example is in the Kurya, where a man’s physical violence towards his spouse is seen as a show of his love (??) and masculinity.
According to reports from the World Bank – some 40% of all Tanzanian women aged 15-49 years have experienced some form of physical violence, whilst 17% have experienced sexual violence. Such findings illustrate the difficulty with many Tanzania women’s decision-making process in family planning.
DKT/T ran a social media campaign comprising 40 posts that were specifically targeted at empowering GBV victims in the country. This initiative arose given the realization that one of the biggest obstacles within Tanzanian society – was the acquiescence and silence towards GBV incidences.