Gender based violence against female students in day secondary schools in Misungwi district, Tanzania
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Date
2014
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
Gender Based Violence (GBV) is not a new phenomenon in Tanzanian schools. It affects
majority of students throughout their lifetime and can cause physical, sexual and
psychological health problems. The government of the United Republic of Tanzania has
developed different programmes, strategies and policies in attempt to eradicate GBV in
schools. However, there are inadequate reports on the incidence of GBV. This study
assessed the incidence of GBV facing female students in day secondary schools in
Misungwi District. The study specifically identified both the forms and incidence of GBV
facing female students; explored the relative causes of GBV that persists in day secondary
schools and assessed community’s perception towards causes of GBV against female
students in the study area. Cross-sectional research design was adopted using closed and
open ended questionnaires administered to 120 female students and 30 community
members; two focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were used to collect data
for the study. Both descriptive (mean, frequencies and percentages) and inferential
statistics (binary logistic regression) were used in data analysis. Perception of community
towards causes of GBV was measured by using Likert Scale. Content analysis was used to
analyse qualitative data. The results show the types of GBV facing female students in day
secondary schools are corporal punishment, verbal abuse, forced sexual intercourse,
deprivation of basic needs and early marriage. Findings show that female students are
highly affected by GBV in and out of school environment and the prevalence of GBV is
high. The prevalent relative causes are lack of awareness among communities and families
and long distance to and from school. With regard to attitude, both community members
and female students had positive perception towards causes of GBV. The study proposes
raising female students awareness through clubs in schools, strengthening guidance and
counseling and sensitization campaigns to the community members.
Description
Dissertation
Keywords
Gender based violence, Female students, Day secondary schools, Misungwi district