Preventing Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Against Children in Tanzania

Building on existing community resources, Pathfinder works to prevent sexual and gender-based violence against children and adolescents in Tanzania.

In partnership with ActionAid and PANOS, Pathfinder works to address gender-based violence against children and adolescents in Tanzania by reaching families and communities through several different channels.

Pathfinder works with its existing network of community health workers and ActionAid's community development facilitators, training them to identify and support children who are vulnerable to or experiencing sexual or gender-based violence. The project will transfer the skills and knowledge necessary for community workers to promote positive parenting and effective parent-child communication in the home.

Pathfinder aims to increase awareness among parents and caregivers about how normalization of violence as a means of discipline can lead to further violence and abuse outside of the home, increase willingness to discuss and address sexual and gender-based violence, and to encourage open communications for children to report violence to a trusted adult.

The project helps identify taboos around discussing sexual information with children as well as fear and repercussion of reporting and penalizing offenders of child abuse. Because Pathfinder recognizes that open conversation about these issues can be tough, the project uses an adapted version of the Families Matter curriculum to encourage reflection, dialogue, and action.

The project's success also relies heavily on male involvement, where Pathfinder and its partners will work to address gender norms and encourage reflection on what it means to be a man in society. 

Because media plays an enormous role in influencing gender norms and behaviors, Pathfinder will work closely with PANOS to build the skills of reporters, editors, and producers to cover stories on child protection topics, helping combat stigma around the issue and raising public awareness about the child protection system.