DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, 9 August 2011 – The results of a pioneering
survey led by the Government of Tanzania released today reveal an
urgent need to address violence against children across all sectors
and in settings where children spend most of their time, particularly
in their homes, communities, and schools.
“I am so pleased that Tanzania is taking the initiative of confronting
this painful problem, “ said the United Nations Deputy Secretary
General Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro at the launch. “Children make up half of
the population here. They are our greatest national treasure.”
The 2009 Tanzania Violence Against Children Survey (TVACS), funded by
UNICEF and carried out by Muhimbili University for Health and Allied
Science in collaboration with the United States Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, finds that nearly three out of every ten girls
and one out of every seven boys in mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar
reported that they had experienced sexual violence.
Almost three-quarters of girls and boys said they had experienced
physical violence before the age of 18 at the hand of an adult or an
intimate partner. Twenty five percent had been subjected to emotional
violence by an adult during childhood.,
At the launch, senior Tanzanian officials stated their commitment to
act on the findings and ensure that the issue of violence against
children is placed high on the agenda of the police, justice,
education, health, HIV and AIDS, local government authorities, NGOs
and community development.
”Having had the courage to find out the scale and scope of violence
against children in the country, the government now has the challenge
of planning and delivering a proportionate response,” said Andrew
Brooks, UNICEF Chief of Child Protection in Tanzania.
“Under the leadership of the Ministry of Community Development, Gender
and Children, the the Multi-Sector Task Force is developing a 4-year
National Prevention and Response Plan to Violence against Children
(2011 – 2015) as a clear indication of its commitment to transform
research into action. With the support of all sectors and all members
of society, including the media, faith based organizations and civil
society; there is a very real opportunity for Tanzania to reduce
sexual, physical and emotional violence against children,” said UNICEF
Tanzania Representative, Dorothy Rozga.
Tanzania’s VACS was commissioned after the 2006 United Nations
Secretary General’s World Report on Violence against Children called
on individual countries to deepen their knowledge of the scale of the
problem. Swaziland is the only other country to have carried out a
similar survey but it did not include interviews with boys and focused
only on sexual violence.
In Kenya and Zimbabwe, moves are afoot to initiate surveys of a
similar scale to Tanzania’s one which saw more than 120 interviewers
recruited and trained to question 3,739 girls and boys, aged between
13 and 24, in their homes. Tanzania has a population of about 40
million people. Half of the population is under the age of 18.
About UNICEF
UNICEF is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories to help
children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence.
The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries,
UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation,
quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of
children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded
entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses,
foundations and governments. For more information about UNICEF and its
work visit: www.unicef.org