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4. Differences in Participants’ Perspectives on GBV by Sex and Age
Throughout the PFGs, several differences in the perceptions of participants by sex and by
age emerged that were suggestive of changing attitudes towards violence. These patterns
are described below.
Younger women are less tolerant of GBV
Younger women are less accepting of GBV as “normal” and more likely to take action if they
are mistreated by men.
By the time a woman reaches 30 years she has gone through a lot of things. She has
been beaten a lot, and I know that if she were to be slapped she would just sulk. But for
a 17 year-old she would leave...She will no longer want to be with you. These [women]
have a lot of problems. They are not tolerant.
Male PFG Participant (25+ years old), Dar es Salaam
The difference is that if she is 17 years old then the marriage will not last because of her
lack of tolerance. That is why they [the marriages] end very fast. But if the woman is
30 years old up to 60 years most of these people when they are in a marriage are more
tolerant and that is why I think that the marriage is more likely to last longer.
Male PFG participant (25+ years old), Dar es Salaam
As illustrated by the quotes above, there is a perception that older women get used to being
beaten and so accept it, while younger women will leave if slapped by their partners.
Interestingly, older women in PFGs had more difficulty in naming different forms of GBV
unprompted and identified fewer acts as GBV. This resonates with the perception many
younger women have, that older women are more likely to tolerate different forms of GBV,
due in large part to the commitment already made and length of time in the relationship.
An older woman will just have to tolerate that because she already has a family.
Female PFG participant (18-24 years old), Dar es Salaam
She [a young woman] will go somewhere she has been advised to because she feels
humiliated that she hasn’t been able to do anything about it. The 60 year-old will
basically keep quiet about it as she has lived with her partner for a long time and the
community might be surprised if she does anything about it because of her age.
Female PFG participant (18-24 years old), Iringa
Help-Seeking Pathways and Barriers for Survivors of GBV in Tanzania March 2013
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