Abstract:
Gender-based violence (GBV) is a historical phenomenon that violates the rights of
women, and continues to persist globally. Approximately a third of women
worldwide have experienced some form of physical and/or sexual violence.
Tanzania, like other African countries, also exhibits a high prevalence of violence
against women with about 40 and 17% of women aged 15-49 years reported to
have experienced physical and sexual violence respectively from their male
partners in their lifetime. Although the policy environment for addressing GBV in
Tanzania is favourable, studies on the prevalence of GBV show that the problem
still persists. There is need for further probe into the topic for more substantive
information, especially in the patriarchal cultures in the country. This study uses
secondary data to examine the nexus between GBV and livelihoods security, the
policy environment for addressing GBV, the perceived implications of GBV on the
livelihoods security of women farmers, and the strategies for addressing GBV
against women farmers in the patriarchal cultures in Tanzania from an Afrocentric
point of view. The forms of GBV against women farmers in the patriarchal cultures
in Tanzania are identified as landlessness or gendered land rights and unequal
access to financing, farm inputs, markets, training and technology. These forms of
GBV have various implications on the women farmers, especially concerning their
income levels, health, and nutrition. Strong legal frameworks, community
sensitization, economic support, and women cooperatives are identified as some of
the strategies for addressing GBV among the women farmers. This information
provide new insights into the key factors accelerating domestic violence among
rural women in Tanzania and promoting their welfare.
