AWD Report 2020
Justice ahs also published and distributed a training manual on human trafficking to raise awareness among stakeholders.
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Significant court rulings have increased protection against child marriage in South Sudan and Tanzania. In 2019, a court in South Sudan annulled a child marriage, in a decision hailed by activists as it could
Figure 25 East Africa: women who have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner at some time in their life, 2019 (% of ever-partnered women)
set a precedent for other girls in the country wishing to end a marriage entered into at a young age.1457 Tanzania’s Marriage Act of 1971 had set the minimum age of marriage for girls at 15 (with parental consent)
Uganda 49.9%
Tanzania 41.7%
Kenya 39.4%
Rwanda 34.4%
Madagascar 30.0%
Ethiopia 28.0%
and at 18 for boys. In 2016, the House Court ruled that part of the Act was unconstitutional, following a legal challenge from the Msichana Initiative (an organisation working on girls’ education in Tanzania) that stated that the Marriage Act violated girls’ rights to equality.1458 The attorney general of Tanzania appealed the 2016 ruling arguing that the lower minimum age “protected girls who became pregnant out of wedlock.”1459 In 2018, the Supreme Court of Tanzania upheld the 2016 court ruling that raised the age of marriage to 18.1460
No data available for Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Mauritius, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan. Source: OECD (2020) “Violence against women (indicator)” .
2.3. Challenges and Gaps During the AWD, East African countries implemented significant legislative, policy and institutional reforms to eliminate VAW and harmful practices; however, challenges remain. The first concerns implementing and enforcing the prohibition of VAW and harmful practices. While nearly all East African countries have adopted laws prohibiting FGM, for example, the majority do not have constitutional provisions on harmful practices. Meanwhile, in other countries, such as Somalia, where constitutions do include provisions on harmful practices, there is no law operationalising these. This represents a significant challenge in eradicating the practice nationally and regionally. Meanwhile, not all East African countries have legislation prohibiting sexual harassment. In countries where laws on sexual harassment are in place, in most cases these address sexual harassment only in connection to the workplace. Second, even though legislation on VAW exists, in most countries the law does not explicitly prohibit marital rape, leaving East African women without legal protection and access to justice in such cases. For example, in Comoros, a wife may file a complaint against her husband but cannot seek justice as marital rape is not criminalised under the Penal Code.1461 In some countries, the definition of rape does not include marital rape; instead, rape is linked to adultery and sexual intercourse outside of marriage. Firmly held views and perceptions of gendered roles and rights in marriage contribute to the underreporting of marital rape. Third, child marriage continues to be practised in the region. All countries except Sudan have set the legal age of marriage at 18, as stipulated in the Maputo Protocol. However, in South Sudan, for example, although the legal age of marriage is 18, the prevalence rate of child marriage is the eighth highest in the world, at 52%.1462 In some countries, child marriage is made possible through legal exceptions, such as parental consent or permission from the court. Incompatible legal systems and resistance from some groups in society enable the practice of child marriage to continue. Exceptions can be used to set aside requirements for the age of marriage and deny girls and young women their right to enter marriage on giving their free and full consent. Conflict and unrest in the region challenge the implementation and enforcement of laws and policies on VAW and harmful practices. The unstable environment has placed girls and women at increased risk of violence and abuse, such as rape and sexual assault, with refugees and internally displaced persons particularly vulnerable.1463 Meanwhile, women and girls from East Africa are increasingly at risk of being trafficked for sexual exploitation and labour to the Middle East.1464 Despite this, there are few reports of prosecutions and convictions of traffickers. Inadequate resources and weak institutional capacity prevent laws and policies from being implemented and enforced.
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