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U.S. Government supports EngenderHealth under 16 Days of Activism to End Violence against women in Iringa











ABOUT ten percent of women aged 15-49 in Tanzania have reported their first sexual intercourse been forced against their will.

29.2 percent of women in the Southern Highlands have experienced sexual violence, while in Iringa Region, the incidence is 11.0%. 

Twelve percent of women have experienced physical violence during pregnancies in the Southern Highlands, while in Iringa Region the figure is 4.6 percent, according to the 2010 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey (TDHS).

Speaking yesterday during the reflection workshop in Iringa, Dr. Mwaluko Kongola, a Gender Based Violence (GBV) Technical Advisor at EngenderHealth said GBV has a direct relationship with HIV transmission, such as unsafe sexual behavior, forced marriage, rape and female genital mutilation (FGM).

He said that it is their hope that together they can help improve quality of life, reduce the impact of HIV in the communities, as well as contributing to broader health promotion in the country.

The U.S. Government, through the United States Embassy in Tanzania and United Agency for International Development (USAID), is supporting an EngenderHealth campaign to end gender based violence (GBV) and violence against children (VAC) in Iringa.

The campaign objective is to reach males aged 18-25 living in Iringa Municipal, to raise their awareness on GBV and VAC, and to encourage them to write down the actions they should take the next time they encounter GBV and VAC in their communities.

He observed that the campaign will also include a mural writing activity (writings on the wall) where men and general public will be invited to write actions they would take against GBV, dance workshops from dance groups like Gibney Dance, MUDA Africa, and UZIKWASA and the screening of the new feature film called Aisha.

Aisha is UZIKWASA’s third film in a series of feature films about common forms of violence against women and girls.

The film is part of a larger multimedia communication campaign ‘Banja Bas’ (Speak Out!), in Pangani, Tanga Region.

It tells the story of stigma, shame and victim blame and about authorities’ and leaders’ reluctance to take action against violence of women’s rights.

Respond is five-year project that is implemented by EngenderHealth, and supports the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW) in family planning in all regions in Tanzania with focused attention in 110 districts.

The program supports comprehensive post-abortion care (ePAC), the scale up and delivery of Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services, and clinical services for survivors of gender based violence (GBV) and violence against children (VAC).

However, 25 November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and the start of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence. 

The 16 Days of Activism end on 10 December by marking the International Human Rights Day.

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