Give Childhood a Chance and Keep Youth Drug Free!

The Violence Against Children Survey of 2018 shows that violence against women and children (VAWC) is a burning issue in Tanzania. 27% of girls experienced sexual violence before the age of 18. 52% of girls told someone about experiencing sexual violence, but only 13 percent of girls received help. 60% of girls believe that it is acceptable for a husband to beat his wife under certain circumstances. In order to tackle this problem the National Plan of Action to End Violence Against Women and Children has been developed in 2017. The Plan intends to reinforce the commitment of the government  to provide effective leadership in eliminating violence in Tanzania. The fight against VAWC requires strong partnerships between the government, development partners and the community. Blue Cross Tanzania cooperated with the City Council in Arusha and conducted a two-day training for gender focal points from four different wards. In total 69 participants took part in the training to learn more about the following points: 

1. Promote positive parenting skills among parents, caregivers and community members.
2. Promote norms and values that empower women and support non-violent, respectful, positive, nurturing and gender-equitable relationships
3. Enforce laws relating to rights of women and children.
4. Train ward VAWC protection committees on their roles and responsibilities

During the training the committees form the different wards elaborated action plans to reduce violence in their wards. The action plans included a strategy, responsible actors and concrete action steps in order to reach their goal. For example the committee from Themi came up with the following strategy:

• Strengthen the households by empowering men, women, girls and boys in pursuit of social economic opportunities
• Voice norms and values that empower women and support non-violent, respectful, positive, nurturing and gender-equitable relationships
• Create and sustain safe and accessible spaces for women and children throughout our communities
• Promote positive parent-child relationships and reduce violent parenting practices
• A Tanzanian society that understands and embraces the changes in laws that are proposed and implemented, which protect and respond to violence.
• A comprehensive and integrated protection system delivering coordinated, quality and timely support to women, girls and boys affected by violence.

After the training, participants evaluated the training. The evaluation showed that almost all participants were strongly encouraged to utilize their newly gained knowledge in their work and promote the National Plan of Action to End Violence Against Women and Children in their community. They even wished for another training focusing on the topic of parenting styles and communication in parenting, since they saw poor parenting styles as a big source of violence against children and women.

We are really happy, that we got to cooperate with the government and train wards in the fight against violence towards women and children. Trainings like these are only possible by your support. Thank you so much for everything you give!

Links:

• Violence Against Children Survey 2018