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Women drag feet in reporting male violence
2006-11-09 08:35:52
By Austin Beyadi
The majority of women who experience physical violence from their partners do not formally report the incidents to any person in authority, The Guardian has been informed.
Most women think that the violence is just a normal thing or is not serious enough to warrant help. Others do not seek assistance because they fear more violence from their partners.
Speaking to The Guardian, Grace Dafa, a counsellor with the Women Legal Aid Centre (WLAC), said that violence against women had a far deeper impact than what the immediate harm caused.
She said that violence against women had devastating consequences for women who experience it and a traumatic effect on those who witnessed it, particularly the children.
”Violence against women shames countries and societies that tolerate it. We in Tanzania are doing everything in our capacity to curb the problem,” said Dafa.
She said that violence against women was a violation of basic human rights. ”It must be eliminated by all possible means: through political will and legal and civil action,” she said.
She said that research undertaken in many countries had shown that informal networks such as family, friends and neighbours usually provided the first point of contact for abused women rather than the formal environment.
”Most women tend to turn away from reporting domestic violence due to fear that their husbands may be jailed, such that their families might remain helpless,” Dafa said.
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