Tanzania
Media Women's Association (Tamwa) has strongly condemned mounting
delays and misstatements of evidence for sexual violence-related cases,
especially rape and sodomy cases in courts, at police stations and by
medical doctors.
The activists now worry whether the government is actually committed to ending gender violence against the girl child.
Briefing reporters in Dar es Salaam on new research findings which indicate that only one case out of 63 reported in the city last year was concluded, Tamwa registered concern, calling on the authorities to take immediate action.
“Only one case was ruled last year, with the culprit being sentenced to 30 years in jail,” Edda Sanga, Tamwa executive director, said.
The new study released by the association shows 43 of the reported cases are still in court, 17 being incomplete for jurisdiction and two cases were dismissed over lack of evidence.
According to the human rights activists, preliminary findings have also proved that the police and some medical doctors were conspiring to frustrate evidence.
Sanga said while the police were not being cooperative in finding and prosecuting perpetrators, doctors, on another hand, were collaborating with the perpetrators to disrupt evidence.
“We found most cases were reported at Mwananyamala hospital where doctors demand money from the victims to record favourable findings or take bribes from the suspects in order to disrupt evidence,” she said, citing a recent involving a 9-year-old girl who was raped but the doctor certified that the child was 19 years old.
“Tamwa is equally concerned with the alarming tendency by some police officers to demand parents of the victim to just seek audience with the perpetrators instead of doing their job as totally unacceptable,” she said.
Mary Richard of the Tanzania Women Lawyers Association (TAWLA) said the police and other players must help victims get justice and not otherwise.
She explained that most cases were easily dropped in courts for lack of evidence simply because the police don’t discharge their duties well.
The activists now worry whether the government is actually committed to ending gender violence against the girl child.
Briefing reporters in Dar es Salaam on new research findings which indicate that only one case out of 63 reported in the city last year was concluded, Tamwa registered concern, calling on the authorities to take immediate action.
“Only one case was ruled last year, with the culprit being sentenced to 30 years in jail,” Edda Sanga, Tamwa executive director, said.
The new study released by the association shows 43 of the reported cases are still in court, 17 being incomplete for jurisdiction and two cases were dismissed over lack of evidence.
According to the human rights activists, preliminary findings have also proved that the police and some medical doctors were conspiring to frustrate evidence.
Sanga said while the police were not being cooperative in finding and prosecuting perpetrators, doctors, on another hand, were collaborating with the perpetrators to disrupt evidence.
“We found most cases were reported at Mwananyamala hospital where doctors demand money from the victims to record favourable findings or take bribes from the suspects in order to disrupt evidence,” she said, citing a recent involving a 9-year-old girl who was raped but the doctor certified that the child was 19 years old.
“Tamwa is equally concerned with the alarming tendency by some police officers to demand parents of the victim to just seek audience with the perpetrators instead of doing their job as totally unacceptable,” she said.
Mary Richard of the Tanzania Women Lawyers Association (TAWLA) said the police and other players must help victims get justice and not otherwise.
She explained that most cases were easily dropped in courts for lack of evidence simply because the police don’t discharge their duties well.
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