Sophie Namy

Over the last few decades, gender-based violence has gained international recognition as a grave social and human rights concern. In Tanzania, gender-based violence is widespread; the most recent Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey found that 44% of ever-married women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime. ICRW and the University of Dar es Salaam's Department of Sociology and Anthropology, in partnership with EngenderHealth, conducted a qualitative study in three target regions of the country: Dar es Salaam, Iringa, and Mbeya. This report documents community perceptions and attitudes about gender-based violence, identifies the range of informal and formal services currently available to survivors, highlights gaps in service provision, and provides recommendations for improving existing services. The findings are based on 104 key informant interviews conducted with a wide array of stakeholders, service providers, and duty bearers at the national, district, and ward levels, as well as participatory focus group discussions with 96 male and female community members. The research and recommendations currently are informing the overall design of a multi-sectoral intervention to scale up the response to gender-based violence in Tanzania under the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS (PEPFAR).

This study investigates the hypothesis that fertility decline fosters changes in gender equality by investigating macro-level patterns of fertility decline relative to changes in the labor and education sectors using national-level time-series data from approximately 30 low- and middle-income countries. We examine the temporal ordering of changes in women's labor force participation and fertility, overall and for women ages 25-34, as well as the relative labor force dynamics of men and women to determine if fertility decline preceded changes in these domains and whether the dynamics of the gender gap suggest changing opportunity structures for women. We then examine trends in women’s and men’s educational attainment relative to aggregate fertility decline, focusing on secondary and tertiary education to reflect shifts in the level of schooling most likely to empower women and representing significant parental and societal investments in women and girls. We find that gaps between men's and women's labor force participation and post-primary education narrowed following declines in aggregate fertility, and sometimes concurrently. Thus the analysis lends qualified support for the hypothesis that fertility decline fosters shifts in the gender dynamics of two key domains.

This research is part of the Fertility & Empowerment Network Working Paper Series, which is examining whether and to what extent increasingly smaller family sizes in lower and middle income countries have empowered women or resulted in fundamental transformations in inequitable gender systems.

This report builds on an earlier report published in 2008 by the Office of Development Effectiveness (ODE) of AusAID that assessed current approaches to addressing violence against women and girls in five of Australia’s partner countries: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Timor-Leste.

In 2011, AusAID commissioned the International Center for Research on Women to undertake a follow-up study to take stock of what has happened with regard to the three key strategies for advancing the violence against women agenda put forward by the ODE report: (1) increasing access to justice for survivors of violence; (2) improving access and quality of support services for survivors; and (3) promoting violence prevention. The study also investigates a fourth strategy: strengthening the enabling environment for ending violence against women. This report presents research findings on progress made since the ODE report in these four thematic areas in the same five countries.

The study methodology consisted of a desk review, an online questionnaire, and key informant interviews. The resulting data showcase successes and lessons learned as well as gaps and shortcomings that need renewed commitment by a broad range of stakeholders.