Schoolgirls bear brunt of rape epidemic, says report

Dar es Salaam. Most rape victims are schoolgirls, according to a new Tanzania Media Women Association (Tamwa) report.

The report, which was launched in Dar es Salaam yesterday, said the incidence of rape was particularly high in Wete, Pemba as well as southern and southwest Unguja.

In Tanzania Mainland, rape was found to be prevalent in Newala, Mtwara Region.

The study covered 10 districts countrywide, and the findings show that 341 cases of sexual assault were reported in Zanzibar alone between 2011 and 2013. Of the cases, 104 cases occurred in the Isles’ southern districts.

Tamwa Executive Director Valerie Msoka said during the report’s launch that the incidence of rape was highest in Newala among districts surveyed in Tanzania Mainland, adding the majority of victims were young schoolgirls.

Last year, 15 cases where reported at the police gender desk in Newala and 14 cases were reported in the first half of this year.

The report comes at a time when serious allegations of human rights abuses have been levelled against security personnel in Mtwara, who are said to be key perpetrators of rape in the region.

Political party leaders and civil society organisations have on separate occasions accused members of the military and police of torture and sexual assault. Districts surveyed in the study are Wete in Pemba, Unguja West and Unguja South.

Others are Kinondoni and Ilala (Dar es Salaam), Kisarawe (Coast), Mvomero (Morogoro), Ruangwa and Lindi Rural (Lindi) and Newala (Mtwara).

According to Ms Msoka, rape of schoolgirls was fuelled by poverty, superstition and drunkenness, adding that many girls dropped out of school after getting pregnant.

“Many cases have failed to proceed in the courts because of corruption among law-enforcers who collude with perpetrators to undermine investigations,’’ she said.

According to the findings, early marriages were also on the rise in all districts surveyed, and it was revealed that schoolgirls between the ages of 12 and 16 were being married off, contrary to the marriage Act of 1971. The report further reveals that domestic violence is also up. The report contains photographs of women who were seriously injured after a battering by their husbands.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has also been cited in the report. The report says in In Ilala District, Dar es Salaam, FGM has become a common trend, with most of the girls involved hailing from Dodoma and Mara regions.

“Our researchers found out that FGM has become rampant due to outdated traditions and customs of some tribes which still believe in the practice,’’ said the Tamwa boss.