Challenges Newspapers Face When Reporting Gender-based Violence in Tanzania

The traditional media plays an important role as an agent of change, an agenda setter for various societal concerns, and a watchdog for whatever goes astray. Vested with such roles, the media, therefore, contributes greatly to the fight against Gender-based Violence (GBV) through the information published in newspapers, televisions, and all other media facilities. In Tanzania, newspapers report incidences of GBV to influence unacceptable behaviour and practices to be abandoned and to adapt to norms and values that are acceptable in society.

This study examined the challenges newspapers face when reporting GBV in Tanzania. Despite the anecdotal evidence that the media in Tanzania and some other countries such as South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ghana, and Nigeria plays a major role in reporting GBV complementing the existing policies, strategies, plans, and efforts of various stakeholders who are on the front line in fighting GBV, the media faces various challenges that render it ineffective in playing its role of being an agent to reduce and or erode the problem.

The study was conducted in Tanzania covering Unguja and Pemba (Zanzibar) and the regions of Mwanza, Kigoma, Dodoma, Iringa, Mtwara, and Tanga (Tanzania Mainland). The cross-sectional, and triangulation approach was applied to gather the required information while employing both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods and analysis. The study had a total sample size of 161 respondents, including 84 respondents for quantitative data and 77 (seven editors, seven reporters, and 63 media audiences) for qualitative data. The study applied univariate techniques to analyse quantitative data and content and thematic analysis for the qualitative data.

Findings from the study revealed that there were seven key challenges that newspapers face when reporting GBV in Tanzania. All these challenges can negatively affect the contribution of media in eliminating this atrocity. The challenges were scarcity of GBV-educated and specialized reporters, lack of investment in investigative journalism on Gender-based Violence issues, peer pressure not to report the GBV cases involving influential people’s family members and or relatives, and lack of urgency to GBV news. Others were threats directed to GBV reporters from the perpetrators and or perpetrators' relatives, lack of timely and accurate GBV data as well as settlements of GBV cases out of court. The study concludes by proposing viable recommendations to reduce GBV in Tanzania effectively.

It is recommended that to contribute effectively to the reduction of the GBV in the country, the media should initiate and sustain in-house GBV reporting training for reporters and editors hired without specialization in GBV, stakeholders in the fight against GBV among NGOs, government, and media invest in investigative journalism with special emphasis in GBV to unearth the hidden issues. media organizations/outlets to promote adherence to journalism ethics in general and GBV reporting ethics specifically, media houses/outlets should consider establishing special GBV pages and pullout to improve urgency to GBV news, the government should guarantee the safety of GBV reporters/editors/sources, GBV data custodian improve availability of timely and accurate GBV data and improved working collaboration between GBV stakeholders and media to promote access to justice among survivors and hence minimize settlements of GBV cases out of court.