Arusha, Tanzania, 9-12 December 2009 —The Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) hosted a summit with multi-faith based leaders to address violence against women. This was a follow up to their 2008 summit, which resulted in the formation of support groups for women, men, and children. Community members and members of support groups gathered for 3 days in Arusha to discuss the role religious leaders play in supporting efforts to eradicate VAW and also to hear from the support groups what they’re needs and challenges are. Working with religious leaders is imperative as they have close connections with the community and most importantly are trusted by community members.

The Minister of Community Development, Gender, and Children, Honorable Magaret Sitta, was the guest of honor. The summit brought together key service providers such as the Police, House of Peace women’s shelter, Tanzania Women Lawyers Association, Medical Women’s Association, and the Women’s Legal Aid Centre. Participants had opportunities to ask concerning questions regarding the laws in place and how one can report acts of violence. The Q&A session revealed the dark reality that though international conventions have been ratified, they have yet to reach the communities. Many women at the summit did not know their rights under the law or what services were available for survivors and their families.

The summit provided an excellent opportunity to raise  awareness of not only the public on VAW issues, but also the Ministry and service providers of the gaps and challenges in the current work being implemented. The summit resulted in a needs assessment of the support groups and connections were made between support groups and service providers.  A long road remains to reaching the communities, but the YWCA summit is another big step in the right direction.