Africa-Press – Tanzania. PRESIDENT Hussein Mwinyi is expected today (July 28) to grace a forum on ‘Gender based Violence’ and launch a special system aimed to end data duplication on the vice in the country.
The Zanzibar Women Lawyers Association (ZAFELA) Chairperson Ms Safia Abbras said here that the planned event will help to discuss the current situation, and the pace of ending it along with improving data collection to end duplication.
“We are collaborating with other stakeholders in Gender Based Violence (GBV) to improve statistics that will minimise duplication. We are working with consultation of the Office of The Chief Government Statisticians (OCGS),” Ms Abbras said.
Speaking at the media briefing on today’s event, ZAFELA Director, Ms Jamila Mahmoud, said there had been conflicting statistics on the offenses, making it difficult to formulate policies and guidelines to combat such offenses.
She said in addressing the problem, ZAFELA has put in place a system that will help provide an opportunity for stakeholders’ collaborate in data recording, so that there is a reliable data base on ‘Gender Based Violence (GBV).
“Under the new system, we will strengthen collaboration with the police, court and civil society organizations (CSOs) to automatically submit reports of such offenses that will reflect the reality of available data,” Ms Mahmoud said.
Speaking on the level of public awareness about GBV, increased reporting indicate people are now better informed compared to the past as they know the importance of reporting as one of the ways to search for justice.
“For example in 2020, the number of reported cases recorded by ZAFELA was 130, and this year so far until June, we have a record of more than two hundred cases dominated by sexual abuse.”
