Public transport a hotspot for sexual harassment
Dar es Salaam. Amid prevailing sexual harassment facing female university students in the country, public transport remains a hotspot, hence, prompting calls for designing of safety measures and strategies to curb the matter, including public awareness campaigns.
A research finding published this week dubbed: “Sexual harassment in public transport among female university students in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania;” indicated that at least 268 (88 percent) out of 304 respondents had experienced sexual harassment while using public transport.
The study defined sexual harassment as a form of gender-based violence (GBV) and that it is characterized by a wide range of distasteful and unsolicited acts of sexual nature carried out against women at the expense of their freedom and comfort.
The finding was a joint effort of Dr Idda Mosha, Dr Tumaini Nyamhanga, Ms Grace Mapunda from Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) and Mr Christopher Mbotwa of Mbeya College of Health and Allied Sciences (MCHAS).
According to the researchers, behaviours that constitute sexual harassment are classified into three forms, namely: verbal, non-verbal, and physical forms, and that more than three-quarters of all the participants had experienced all three forms of sexual harassment.
“At least 254 of the respondents claimed to have experienced verbal sexual harassment making it the most common form of harassment. Whereas those who experienced physical, and non-verbal sexual harassment, were 88 and 75 percent of the total respondents respectively,” the report reads in part.
The journal further indicated that respondents were asked to further describe the characteristics of sexual harassment they had experienced whereby (65 percent) of the 254 respondents reported being called names such as ‘baby’, ‘sweetie’, and ‘love’ as the most common characteristics.
On the other hand, those who reported about inappropriate touching of their bodies were 56 percent of the participants, while 46 percent; were told jokes of a sexual nature including the displaying sexually suggestive visuals such as winking, throwing kisses, and licking lips which is noted as most common characteristic of physical sexual violence.
The research comes at a time when President Samia Suluhu Hassan has called for the review of laws enacted to protect women and girls against violence, thus do away with legislations that deny victims their rights.
For instance, at an event to mark 25 years of Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) held on Wednesday, President Hassan said: “But the law alone cannot eliminate violence against women, but public awareness is need”.
For Dr Judith Odunga, former National Coordinator of WiLDAF, is of the view that attitudes, norms, and behaviours that are deep-rooted in the community have producing a culture of social acceptance of gender violence, especially violence against women.
In one of her presentations, she said: “Some aspects of violence against women are socially sanctioned and justified as inevitable way of managing conflict and are viewed as a normal way of life and that lack of guts and decision making power leave women tied up in violence.”
Commenting on, Mr Rajab Hamis, a ‘daladala’ operator said: “Honestly, it is a challenge especially during peak hours; but whenever we notice that there is something of sort, we usually help victims (depending on its nature) by reporting perpetrators to police officers.”
Mr Hamis recalled an incident saying: “I was driving from Kibamba to Mbezi Mwisho and heard my passenger complaining as there was this guy who ejaculated on a young lady of about 24. After we arrived at our destination, the victim and I reported the perpetrator.”
When asked if the implementation of a level seat policy would help to diminish the said acts, the ‘daladala’ driver said: “I do agree as each passenger will have his own seat, but GBV goes beyond public transport.”
He added: “This is rooted within our families where a boy is seen as being superior against a girl, so the boy will grow-up with that attitude. So, we need to promote further awareness, mobilizes student clubs in their respective schools and communities.”
According to him, religious, and community leaders, as well as government officials, should regularly discuss GBV issues in their respective areas, and proper enforcement of laws and policies related to the matter should be established, hence eliminating the threat of GBV in the country.
But Rahel Kalinga, UDSM alumni; thinks more tougher legal action should be taken against perpetrators and no form of violence against women and girls should go unreported, and public awareness is encouraging more victims to report violence is needed.
When reached for comment, Mr Joab Simba, a lawyer with Josia Attorneys, a law firm based in Mwanza, said: “The first priority should respond to the needs of victims, and ensure that they are properly protected. There is also a need to have specific legislation that would address the matter, including amending those that appear to infringe women’s rights.”
Media reports indicated that in Tanzania, GBV is a grave reality in the lives of many women, girls and disabled people in particular. It results from gender norms and social and economic inequities that give privilege to men over women.
