1st October 2013
Two out of five gender based violence (GBV) victims
are men, hence the need to have a clause that protects them in the new
Constitution like it does to women.
The proposal was made recently at a meeting to review Tanzania’s constitution held in Rombo district organised by a non governmental organisation called AJIMARO.
A participant, Anjela Mwapachu, said most men in Tanzania are victims of domestic violence.
However, she continued to say, they hide the truth since there is no article in the Constitution that gives them their rights as men.
Mwapachu said now, it is the right time for male to claim for their rights to be identified in the new Constitution.
She asserted: “There are very many men who claim to be assaulted by their partners, but they often hide the truth since their Constitutional rights are not mentioned as far as GBV is concerned.”
She said generally a victimised man is shy and afraid of being laughed at if he reveals that he was beaten by his wife or girlfriend – a situation that has left men to suffer silently.
According to the World’s new report on men abuses, about two in five of all victims of domestic violence are men.
This contradicts the widespread belief that it is mostly women who are battered and bruised. Men assaulted by their partners are often ignored by police, thereby their attackers go free.
Male victims have far fewer places to flee to for refuge than women, says a study by the men’s rights campaign group called Parity.
The analysis on domestic violence shows that the number of men attacked by their spouses is much higher than thought. Titled: Domestic Violence: The Male Perspective’, the report states:
"Domestic violence is often seen as a female victim/male perpetrator problem, but evidence demonstrates that this is a false picture."
Data from UK Home Office statistical bulletins and the British Crime Survey show that men made up about 40 percent of domestic violence victims each year between 2004-05 and 2008-09.
Campaigners claim that men are often treated as "second-class victims" and many police officers as well as councils do not take them seriously.
"Male victims are almost invisible to authorities, such as the police, who rarely can be prevailed upon to take their side," said John Mays of Parity.
He added: "Their plight is largely overlooked by the media, in official reports and in government policy. For example, in the provision of refuge places, there are 7,500 for females in England and Wales, but only 60 for men."
Official figures underestimate the true number of male victims, Mays said, lamenting: "Culturally it's difficult for men to bring these incidents to the attention of authorities. Men are reluctant to say that they've been abused by women because it is seen as unmanly and weak."
The proposal was made recently at a meeting to review Tanzania’s constitution held in Rombo district organised by a non governmental organisation called AJIMARO.
A participant, Anjela Mwapachu, said most men in Tanzania are victims of domestic violence.
However, she continued to say, they hide the truth since there is no article in the Constitution that gives them their rights as men.
Mwapachu said now, it is the right time for male to claim for their rights to be identified in the new Constitution.
She asserted: “There are very many men who claim to be assaulted by their partners, but they often hide the truth since their Constitutional rights are not mentioned as far as GBV is concerned.”
She said generally a victimised man is shy and afraid of being laughed at if he reveals that he was beaten by his wife or girlfriend – a situation that has left men to suffer silently.
According to the World’s new report on men abuses, about two in five of all victims of domestic violence are men.
This contradicts the widespread belief that it is mostly women who are battered and bruised. Men assaulted by their partners are often ignored by police, thereby their attackers go free.
Male victims have far fewer places to flee to for refuge than women, says a study by the men’s rights campaign group called Parity.
The analysis on domestic violence shows that the number of men attacked by their spouses is much higher than thought. Titled: Domestic Violence: The Male Perspective’, the report states:
"Domestic violence is often seen as a female victim/male perpetrator problem, but evidence demonstrates that this is a false picture."
Data from UK Home Office statistical bulletins and the British Crime Survey show that men made up about 40 percent of domestic violence victims each year between 2004-05 and 2008-09.
Campaigners claim that men are often treated as "second-class victims" and many police officers as well as councils do not take them seriously.
"Male victims are almost invisible to authorities, such as the police, who rarely can be prevailed upon to take their side," said John Mays of Parity.
He added: "Their plight is largely overlooked by the media, in official reports and in government policy. For example, in the provision of refuge places, there are 7,500 for females in England and Wales, but only 60 for men."
Official figures underestimate the true number of male victims, Mays said, lamenting: "Culturally it's difficult for men to bring these incidents to the attention of authorities. Men are reluctant to say that they've been abused by women because it is seen as unmanly and weak."
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN
