Help-Seeking Pathways and Barriers for ... - EngenderHealth

Lack of quality care
A final structural barrier to help-seeking of any kind that surfaced as a common theme
across interviews and PFGs is the lack of quality services. This was most frequently
described by community members in terms of corruption and delays in service provision.
The three excerpts below are drawn from a PFG with young women that included a focused
conversation on these issues. The views expressed, however, are representative of other
discussions groups.
I took my husband to the local government about providing basic needs for the child. Up
to now nothing has been done, and I haven't even received a letter to go a higher level.
There is no assistance. If there was assistance girls would have come up and reported
their predicaments. A week can pass by after reporting a rape case, and yet nothing has
been done. Won’t you be ashamed to continue with following up
What I think is that the [gender] desk should not be at a police station, because the
environment attracts corruption. One of my friends had trouble with her husband who
she has lived with for 15 years. He was arrested and slept in a police cell for a night. On
the next day nothing was done.
Female PFG participants (18-24 years old), Dar es Salaam
From the perspective of service providers, this gap in quality services was emphasized
through the lack of specific training in GBV as well as the absence of protocols or guidelines
for treating survivors.
I work using my experience. I have not received any form of training [for GBV].
Service Provider, Iringa
No, I haven’t [received any training for GBV] but I’m a lawyer by profession. Therefore,
I make some judgment just by assessing the situation. We don’t just rush to the court.
Some conflicts can be solved just by discussing them.
Service Provider, Mbeya
Help-Seeking Pathways and Barriers for Survivors of GBV in Tanzania March 2013
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