Searching for the will to conscientiously prosecute sexual crimes in Zanzibar
By Salma Maoulidi | September 2009
The passage of the Sexual Offences (Special Provisions Act) (SOSPA) in 1998 intended to promote the prosecution of crimes of gender based violence (GBV) more broadly. Specifically, it sought to strengthen the protection of victims and survivors of sexual violence. In 2004, the Zanzibar legislature, the Zanzibar House of Representatives, amended SOSPA further including it in Part XV of the 2004 Zanzibar Penal Act with the objective of making the law more readily accessible to functionaries in law enforcement and the judiciary, and therefore facilitate its implementation.
Keywords: Tanzania • Zanzibar
Zanzibar GBV advocacy: important lessons for future legal reform strategies
By Salma Maoulidi | September 2009
The passage of the Convention of the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1979 revolutionized advocacy for women’s rights in global, national and local spaces. Subsequent global conferences on women, especially those convened by the United Nations, squarely put women’s rights issues on national agendas. Specifically, the naming of violence against women a human rights violation to be considered as a moral and legal crime by CEDAW, the Vienna Declaration and the Beijing Platform for Action (BoA) reinvigorated local activism against gender based violence (GBV).
Keywords: Tanzania • Zanzibar
