The implications of gender-based violence on livelihoods security of women farmers in patriarchal cultures in Tanzania

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.