ZANZIBAR: THE Zanzibar minister of State, President’s Office – Finance and Planning Dr Saada Mkuya Salum has said that despite the many efforts taken by the Government, human rights activists and NGOs, still acts of Gender Based Violence (GBV) persist in the isles.
The event was organised by the Isles Ministry of Community Development, Elders, Gender and Children to commemorate the two-week global campaign which starts on November 25 to December 10, annually.
“The society is still not ready and not doing enough and instead members of the community promote corruption and hesitate to take action against those who commit gender violence acts in families. This affects our efforts to fight all forms of GBV,” said Dr Saada at the launch of 16 Days of activism against GBV.
In her speech, Dr Saada stressed that it is the responsibility of all people in the country to support the fight against GBV by exposing offenders and providing education on the effects of violence against women and children, so that the society can gain a deep understanding on the problem.
“We are aware that our country (Zanzibar) successfully prepared and implemented a five-year (2017/2022) National Action Plan to Combat Violence and Abuse of Women and Children.
During the evaluation, the Ministry responsible for women and children noted achievements including increased public awareness on GBV,” she said.
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However, Dr Saada mentioned that the assessment also indicates low commitments among anti GBV committees at district and grassroot levels, urging all people and officers in the campaign to show commitment and strengthen collaboration to address violence in the communities.
She said: “Let us continue with education so that children, women and other people understand problems caused by violence against children and women and also discourage ‘bad’ traditional practices that may lead to abuse.” According to statistics from the Office of the Chief Government Statistician (OCGS)-Zanzibar, a total of 1,954 incidents of GBV including sexual violence were recorded last year (2023) of which 83.7 per cent of the victims were children, followed by 12.0 per cent women and 4.3 per cent males. She mentioned that among the child victims; girls were 1,263 (77.1 per cent) and boys were 376 (22.9 per cent) while a total of 13 people with disabilities were subjected to violence and sexual harassment last year.
For the year 2024, from July to October, a total of 165 cases of GBV were reported, children victims taking the lead by 86.1 per cent followed by women 10.9 per cent and male 3.0 per cent and that among the children majority of the victims were girls.
“These data paint a bad picture on Zanzibar, let the activists, religious leaders and all other groups join forces to end the evil behaviours in our community. So far, the government appreciates work done by different groups, but we need to continue with the campaign to ensure all children and women are safe,” she said.
The Minister for Community Development, Elders, Gender and Children Ms Riziki Pembe Juma said at the gathering that the 2023/2024 campaign has also reached a total of 654 schools and 274 madrasas (Qurans schools) to provide education on GBV to the students and teachers
