Gang rape common, but largely ignored in Tanzania
Recent incidents in India have raised the ire of the global community as more women report being victims of rape and sexual assault. PHOTO | AFP
Dar es Salaam. The gang rape and death of a young woman in Mbezi Beach, on the outskirts of Dar es Salaam, a few days before her wedding last month highlights a critical but largely ignored problem.
Local human rights activists are outraged that the issue is not generating as much concern at home as it did when a young Indian woman was gang-raped and subsequently died in New Delhi last December.
The incident in the Indian capital city was the subject of worldwide media coverage, the highlights of which included violent protests in India, quickly followed by a review of the law under which rapists now face the death penalty.
Besides the bride, three other Tanzanian women were gang-raped separately last December. The first was a businesswoman in Mbeya and the others were students--one in Ruvuma and the other at St Johns University in Dodoma.
A deeply upset Dr Helen Kijo-Bisimba, the executive director of the Legal and Human Rights Centre, told The Citizen on Saturday: Society has set the agenda on things like politics and forgotten the ones that undermine basic human rights, such as rape. It is not right and the law is very clear that life imprisonment should be imposed on the culprits.
She said most sex assault cases ended up in court, where they dragged for long periods, while others were resolved within the family circle--an option many prefer because they can then avoid embarrassing publicity.
Worse still, many women who are assaulted this way die--with the result that there is too little evidence to secure conviction of suspects, some of whom disappear.
According to Section 131a of the penal code, as read after amendments made under the Sexual Offences Special Provision Act of 1998, people convicted of gang rape should be sentenced to life in prison, regardless of the actual role played in the rape.
The director of the Tanzania Media Womens Association, Valerie Msoka, said many gang rape victims opt to suffer in silence rather than report the crimes to police because the cases take long to be heard and, even then, justice is seldom delivered.
She remarked: When the culprits are taken to court, the process drags on for a long period, during which the suspects manipulate the situation in a manner that frustrates victims, some of whom surrender.
Ms Msoka cited the case of a young woman who was gang-raped by seven men on her way home from work. The case is in court but, given the physical and emotional trauma arising from the assault, she is depressed by the seemingly endless judicial process and her patience is almost snapping.
The TAMWA boss stressed, however, that, sexual assaults should continue to be reported while judicial imperfections are addressed, warning that inaction would amount to giving sex maniacs licence to keep on attacking women.
The Citizen on Satuday has established that more than 10 gang rape cases were reported to various police stations countrywide last year.
Changombe police station in Dar es Salaam recorded two cases. An officer on the Gender and Childrens desk of the station, Mr Meshack Mpwage, said that although gang rape was not very common, rape in the broader context was a source of considerable concern.
Last year, we recorded 74 rape cases, 41 cases of sodomy, and two related to gang rape, Mr Mpwage remarked. Sex crimes should be given more attention.
Sex crimes tend to be under-reported for reasons such as social stigma, threats by the rapists and ignorance of the law.
According to the assistant director of the Tanzania Gender Network Programme, Anna Kikwa, sexual assaults revolve around social gatherings and love relationships. The culprits tend to kill the victims so as to hide evidence, resulting in the cases taking a long time due to the process of police investigations, she told this reporter. The New Delhi incident should be an eye opener to Tanzania, she added.
Those of us in this field see a lot of gender-based violence, rape being one of the conspicuous manifestations. Community members must play a big role in stemming the tide, primarily by shedding the culture of silence and fear of stigma associated with reporting rape incidents.
She decried the tendency by some relatives of the victims to be softened by bribes from those of the offenders, to kill cases.
The Morogoro Regional Police Commander, Mr Faustine Shilogile, said no gang rape had been reported under his jurisdiction, but rape was widespread.
Similar sentiments were voiced by a social and counselling psychologist, Chris Mauki, who said secrecy associated with rape was an obstacle to initiatives to curb the crime.
A child may be abused within a family but the parents dont report the incident to the police, he added.
This tolerance of inhuman behaviour subjects the victims to psychological torture.
The psychological impact of sexual abuse is often long-lasting and leads to extreme reaction. A girl who was raped at tender age may decide,for example, to remain single for life, due to suspicion and fear she harbours for virtually all men.
Gang rape common, but largely ignored in Tanzania
