Tanzania gets more serious about GBV
One of the latest such effort is
by the UN Women in collaboration with the Tanzania Women Judges Association
(TAWJA).
They’ve produced Tanzania’s first
Gender Bench Book on women’s rights and it was launched recently and aptly by
none other than the President of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan.
The book aims to provide an
accessible, user-friendly reference guide for judicial officers in protecting
the rights of women and girls.
This includes strengthening the
gender responsiveness of judgments on cases and ensuring women and girls are treated
with the dignity and respect they deserve.
Gender-based violence remains one
of the greatest challenges facing women in Tanzania.
According to government data,
41,000 cases of violence against women were reported in 2017 alone, with
discriminatory customs and traditions still presenting significant barriers to
the realization of gender equality.
When compounded with other
socio-cultural challenges such as lower literacy levels and access to
resources, higher poverty rates and strictly proscribed cultural norms that
dictate their behavior in society, women are less likely to be aware of their
rights and the relevant justice mechanisms accessible to them.
With support from the Government
of Sweden, UN Women’s Access to Justice programme has implemented a project in
partnership with TAWJA to strengthen the court system in the management of
cases of violence against women.
The GBB was developed within the
context of this project.
Speaking at the launch, UN Women
Representative, Hodan Addou, said the GBB will serve as a vital tool to protect
women’s rights, opportunities and participation in the delivery of justice
services in Tanzania.
“It will assist judges, lawyers
and human rights defenders with quick reference materials on applicable laws,
decided cases and innovative victim-friendly court procedures on the cases that
women bring to court,” she added.
Drawing from the structure of
similar UN Women projects in Asia, Latin America and elsewhere in Africa, the GBB
was developed for judges, magistrates and all others in the legal sector in
Tanzania to use and refer to in the adjudication of cases.
According to the TAWJA Chair,
Judge Joacquine De Mello, the aim is to ensure the exercise of proper judicial
discretion and decision-making using local and international best practices and
equip judicial officers with skills to identify existing laws and practices
that are discriminatory.
“The book will therefore serve as
a catalyst in changing gender biases and attitudes and strengthening the capacities
of justice actors to administer justice in such a way that safeguards the
rights of women,” she said.
In her keynote address, President
Samia Suluhu Hassan emphasized the need for the book to shape and nurture
positive gender attitudes and enable judicial officers to deliver justice based
on existing laws that are created to protect women and girls.
She spoke of the timely nature of
the Gender Bench Book on Women’s Rights and called on all judges and judicial
officers at a high court that was recently designated to handle family-related
cases like marriage, divorce, maintenance and inheritance as well as cases of
harassment and abuse to make good use of the guidelines.
She further urged the judiciary
and Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs to ensure the book is
disseminated beyond the judiciary and that other key players such as the police
force are also trained to operationalize it. She encouraged all stakeholders,
including civil society and women’s rights organizations working in the country
to contribute to ensuring that the principles outlined in the Bench Book are
put into practice throughout the country.
“Success cannot come from court
rulings alone, but from the way communities will change and respect the dignity
of women without any bias. By working together, your collective voices will
effect the change we need for the sustainable development of the country as a
whole,” she added.
She further reiterated the government’s
commitment to continue raising public awareness on human rights, strengthening
legal frameworks and enhancing access to justice.
With plans in place to roll out
the book to over 2,000 judicial actors from all 16 judicial zones in the
country in the next year and a half, Addou concluded that “our hope is that
this will only be the beginning of the many great resources for the judicial
system to better respond to and uphold the rights of Tanzanian women and girls.”
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