Coping Strategies by Men Exposed to Gender-Based Violence in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Abstract

This study sought to establish coping Strategies by men exposed to gender-based violence in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. The study was prompted by the fact that many similar studies concentrated on GBV to female partners and therefore the existing gap needed to be filled. The study employed a prolonged field engagement through in-depth interviews. While Dar es Salaam Region consists of five municipalities, this study was conducted in Kisutu ward, Ilala Municipality owing its strategic location in the city with big populations and large social interactions. Through snow ball sampling technique, 25 men were sampled as respondents and thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The study concluded that men used various coping strategies such as counselling services, religious services, suicide attempts and self-harming, alcohol and drug abuse, divorce, vacating home for sometime, tolerating, turning to authorities and having another partner/ second wife to cope up with GBV experiences. Based on the conclusions, the study recommends that responsible stakeholders like the government, communities, religious institutions as well as families and individuals should work collaboratively towards supporting affected men through education and sensitization which aim at helping the men to cope more effectively with all forms of GBV. There is a need for collaborative efforts to identify violence types conducted to men and reasons for the same so as to find better ways of curbing the experiences.