Prevention of Violence against Children and Adolescence

Ensuring social protection for vulnerable people is a goal of MKUKUTA (The national strategy for growth and reduction of poverty) in Tanzania, and children are commonly considered to be among the most vulnerable, KCC has been involved in different activities to ensure vulnerable are achieving their dreams and receive all basic needs and seven services thus are Health, Education, Psychosocial support, Protection, Shelter and develop their skills and talents.

It well known that, during the period of childhood and adolescence, children and young people continue to needs special care and support. While most children in Tanzania are cared for and protected by their families and communities, many are not so fortune.

Many of children come from the families were income of adult is Tsh.250 per day, this takes them to stay under poverty line and failing to provide enough food to satisfy their basic minimum nutritional requirements, with consequences for physical and mental development, economic and social wellbeing and contribution to national development.

Children are therefore clearly affected by this generalized in security, but there are also group of children who are may be considered to be vulnerable.

Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world. Thousands of children live below the poverty line. They don’t have access to basic needs (enough to eat, drinking water, clothes, shoes etc.). 16.7% of children aged below five are underweight. These children get ill more often and they also die younger . Because health care is too expensive or too far away for poor families, many children die before the age of five from preventable and treatable diseases like malaria or cholera. The infant mortality rate is 65.74 deaths to every 1,000 births (rank 22 in the world). Life expectancy is 53.14 years at birth.
Children are very important for Tanzanian families. On average every woman has 4.02 children (total fertility rate). But if a family has a lot of children it makes it more difficult to pay for each child’s basic needs. Usually the children help their family with the daily housework. They also take care of their parents when these get older.

There is a lack of available data on violence against children and child exploitation, specifically in Dar Es Salaam. However, there are significant indicators clearly indicating a high child vulnerability e.g. high teenage pregnancy, 22.6% of children not living with their parents, high levels of poverty, illiteracy, growing levels of CSEC and a child marriage prevalence of 35%. National figures suggest that more than 70% of children experience one or more forms of physical, sexual or emotional abuse in Tanzania. Nearly 3 out of every 10 females and 1 out of every 7 males reported at least one experience of sexual violence prior to the age of 18. Child labour (21% of children) and its worst forms (5%) are manifested in Tanzania in various sectors of the economy like agriculture, mining, domestic.

Services, fishing and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC). Boys and girls below 18 years of age are used in sexual activities in brothels, bars, hotels, restaurants and houses, and are remunerated in cash or in kind. Four percent of girls between the ages of 13 to 17 reported receiving money or goods in exchange for sex at least once in their lifetime. Child marriage is highly prevalent in Tanzania and still legally accepted for children aged 15 years old through the Marriage Act 1971, although contradicted by the Education Act and Sexual Offences Special Provisions Act.

Specific objectives – target groups – activities

To develop safe school environment for children

Teachers, parent/caregivers and children in schools

• Organizing 4 meetings with parents/caregivers together with the teachers to connect them on how to get information from each other about development of the children and any violence happen to the children.
• To organize teachers development training for 20 teachers from 4 schools of Kigamboni (treatment, teaching methods and identification of children who abused and at risk of abuse or exploitation or dropping out)
• To formulation children committee teams in each of 4 schools which can help children to organize, help them to address issues against violence and report to the teachers of parents. ( Other stake holders)

Formulation of women and young girls Income Generating Activities groups

300 women and young girls of 20 groups

• Conducting 20 training about parenting skills and entrepreneurship.
• Sewing classes, life skills and hand crafts activities.
• Home visiting and provide psychosocial support and other knowledge taking care their children to the householder.
• Identification of other stakeholders to support women groups and their families.
• Allocation of fund to 20 groups.

Children rights and community responsibility against violence

Children, parent and the community of Kigamboni

• Visiting 4 schools and organizing event to raise awareness about children rights and responsibilities as well their duties in school.
• To training and work together with child supporters who can help to identify and support all children who facing violence or at risk.
• To have 1 full time social worker and 1 child supporter at KCC office that can provide psychosocial and concealing to any child who has any challenges or problems faced him/her to help find their way through to solve it.
• To have two social workers that will make home visiting together with 2 child supporters to identification of children experiencing abuses, neglect and exploitation. As well providing Early Child Development ECD education to family level.
• To provide legal training support once a month for children and parents about children rights and parent responsibilities to their children.
• To establish children forum every quarterly by inviting children committee from schools and from the community to discuss their right and change their ideas as well find the way through among themselves for their better future.
• To conduct one community event every month to educate people about children rights and how community is responsible to practice with this.

Engage the community on fighting against violence and children abuse

Community audience and stake holder (Police, Local government leaders, Religions leaders, Health care & dispensary and teachers.

• To conduct meeting every quarterly to invite all stake holders to attend so we can all put strength together to prevent a violence against children.
• To connect and introduce our child supporters and social workers to be allow visiting police station, dispensary, local government offices, church madrasas (Mosquals) and schools to get information about violence against children and gender issues.
• To use a day of African Child Day as a big event to address and give the report to the community about violence against children where children can address and insist different issue about them to the community by showing their talents and express themselves on how their feeling are.

Men behavior change on family care

200 men 

• To engage men in different duties of families and change a stereo type to men as superior and eradicates all types of violence within the family.
• Conducting 20 training about parenting skills and entrepreneurship.