Zanzibar government plans to amend some of its laws to strengthen the fight against gender-based violence (GBV) in the Isles, the House of Representatives has been told.
He named the laws that are currently under review as the Penal Decree Act, No.6/2004 and the Criminal Procedures Act, No.7/2004, noting that upon completion, the proposed Bills will be tabled in the House.
Mr Maalim conceded that gender based violence is a worrying problem that prevail in the Zanzibar society, but insisted not only that the government was aware but was equally determined to combat the malice.
“I concur with honourable Representative that our society as it is the case with other societies across the world has been entangled in a massive problem of gender-based violence, especially against women and children.
The government through her institutions and in collaboration with civil societies has taken different measures to combat the problem,” he said. He named some of the initiatives as creating public awareness on the effects of GBV and implored the community to take action against the incidents.
A recent Human Rights report says GBV against women and children is becoming increasingly worse in the Isles despite many efforts to address the problem by the government organs and NGOs.