Women blamed for escalating GBV – study

SHINYANGA : MORE than 1000 people from 18 wards in Shinyanga Council have been reached with research on issues related to gender violence to women and children in a period of two years from 2021 to April this year.

Presenting the findings of the research conducted in two years to stakeholders from organisations and institutions dealing with fighting against gender violence a researcher from Tengeru Community Development Mr Mathias Mkude said the community needs to be educated more.

Mr Mkude said during the research they managed to reach various groups and learnt that women partly contribute to the growth of patriarchy system by valuing more male children than female children.

The study conducted by Citizens 4 Change in collaboration with Women Fund Tanzania Trust (WFT-Trust) will be a catalyst to stakeholders who are against gender violence.

Mkude further said that despite having a proper system of informing about GBV acts, the community is still using informal ways to report the cases.

“We have discovered that besides  the increasing GBV  incidents women  have been contributing  to such incidents especially at family level by valuing a  male child  than a female  child.

Mr Mkude said through the research they have reached 1,264 in 18 wards of Shinyanga and talked to 128 government representatives and held meetings with various people in the community.

For his part Shinyanga Council Chairman Ngasa Mboje said the research will help in ensuring that they continue to educate the public in efforts to end GBV.

Senior programme officer from WFT –Trust Neema Msangi said the research has been done in Shinyanga Council where they have been carrying out GBV projects by involving various organisations which have greatly contributed to bring changes.

Shinyanga Regional Community Development Officer Rehema Edson called upon the organisations to use the study findings as catalyst in the fight against GBV.