Tanzania's hidden pandemic; Understanding the importance of regional variations in women's experiences of IPV in Tanzania.


Lydia Makaga, Memorial University

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) remains a serious public health problem and a development concern. The lifetime rates of physical and/or sexual IPV are the highest in sub-Saharan Africa. In Tanzania, IPV remains a significant problem with implications on gender equality. Approximately 40% of Tanzanian women aged 15 to 49 years experienced physical violence, and 17% of women experienced sexual violence at some point in their lives. Although previous studies confirm a high prevalence of IPV in Tanzania, scholarly research on this epidemic remains scant. Similar to other countries on the African continent, Tanzania is divided into several regional zones. These regions are further categorized into seven ecological/geographical zones: the Central, Western, Northern, Eastern, Lake, Southern, and Zanzibar. Besides ecology, Tanzania’s zonal/regional classifications are also based on linguistic and cultural similarities and differences. Although limited, previous research on IPV in sub-Saharan Africa shows ethnic and regional differences in the experiences of women. At the moment, no study has comprehensively examined regional differences in women’s experiences of IPV in Tanzania. This study fills a significant gap by using nationally representative survey data to examine regional variations in IPV in Tanzania and potential reasons for the differences. Feminist and cultural theories were used as frameworks for this work. Feminist theories view IPV as a social by-product of gender and power disparity between men and women in society. Cultural theories underline the importance of examining a groups beliefs, customs, and practices and how they relate to violence against women. This study used the 2015/16 Tanzania Demographic Health survey that interviewed a sample of 7597 ever-partnered women; and employed binary logistic regression techniques for analysis. Situated within feminist and cultural frameworks, we examined regional variations in IPV among Tanzanian women controlling for socioeconomic (employment status, educational background, and age), gender norms and life course characteristics ( husband’s controlling attitudes, justification for wife-beating, and husbands’ alcohol consumption). Descriptive results indicate women were about 32 years old when surveyed. Approximately, 36% of respondents reported physical violence, and 32% and 12% experienced emotional and sexual violence, respectively. Results show women do support patriarchal gender norms; they also thought their husbands were controlling (71%) and justified wife-beating (58%). The multivariate results showed that women in the Western and Lake zone were more likely to experience physical, emotional, and sexual violence compared to women in the central zone of Tanzania. Not surprising, women in the Lake Zone were very strong in supporting patriarchal gender norms and in justifying wife beating. Furthermore, the risk for IPV for Lake Zone women was exacerbated by their lower socio-economic status and they indicated their husbands were the most controlling. This might explain their increased susceptibility to IPV compared to women from other regional zones in Tanzania. Policymakers should emphasize cultural and linguistic factors when addressing and implementing IPV policies on IPV in Tanzania.

Non-presenting author: Eric Tenkorang, Memorial University

This paper will be presented at the following session: