Citizens have the right to live free from violence and the threat of violence. The police have a legal responsibility to protect the rights of citizens and are responsible for upholding specific duties to ensure these rights are not infringed. In most cases, the police are the first point of call for victims when domestic disputes occur.

Police are an integral part of facilitating justice for survivors. They are responsible for responding quickly to the call and should investigate the reported incidents of violence, apprehend the perpetrator(s) and record all evidence required to prosecute the perpetrator(s) in a court of law.

Only advocates of the high court of Tanzania can practice law in all courts and most tribunals, except primary courts. Law firms in Tanzania can be involved in domestic disputes or legal actions provided the persons acting on the defendant or opponent's behalf are advocates of the high court of Tanzania.^[17]

The principal legislation governing evidence or proof in Tanzania is the Evidence Act.^[18] Evidence or proof should be relevant and should be facts of the matter. Some facts are essential in understanding other relevant facts pertaining to the matter.

There are specific requirements for evidence and documents, which vary depending on the type of evidence and documents being used. Tanzania's Evidence Act identifies the different types of evidence that can be used in proceedings and the requirements that evidence would need to meet.

When gathering evidence, the investigation authority or police would need to ensure that they collect all reliable and relevant evidence that is pertinent to the matter and that the evidence establishes and covers the basis of every circumstance of the matter.

The Evidence Act, Chapter IV Part I, contains details of the burden of proof, stating that if a person wants a judgment to be given by a court in relation to any liability or legal right dependent on the existence of facts that the person submits, they must prove that those facts exist. The burden of proof lies with the person that is bound to prove the facts' existence.

According to the Evidence Act:

A fact is said to be proved when in criminal matters, except where any statute or other law provides otherwise, the court is satisfied by the prosecution beyond reasonable doubt that the fact exists.

Yes, affirmative defenses are available to the accused. However, these should be narrowly limited.^[19] 

Willful intent is not required under Tanzanian law. However, willful intent is generally present when committing domestic violence crimes.

A person making false statements is liable to prosecution for perjury if the person willingly stated any information or details that they knew to be false or untrue. If found guilty of perjury, a person could be imprisoned for seven years.

For sexual intercourse, the age of consent for females is 18 and there is no stipulated age for males. Sexual intercourse with a female under 18 years of age is illegal. However, a person may have sexual intercourse with a female aged between 15 and 17 years if she is his wife.

The Tanzanian Penal Code^[20] states the following:

Any person who has unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman or girl, without her consent, or with her consent, if the consent is obtained by force or by means of threats or intimidation of any kind, or by fear of bodily harm, or by means of false representations as to the nature of the act, or, in the case of a married woman, by personating her husband, is guilty of the felony termed "rape."

With regard to the concept of self-defense, the Tanzanian Penal Code states that when a person reasonably believes that they are being threatened with impending unlawful bodily harm, the person is allowed to use appropriate force against the person threatening to harm him or her.

With regard to the presumption of insanity, the Tanzanian Penal Code provides that "every person is presumed to be of sound mind, and to have been of sound mind at any time which comes in question, until the contrary is proved."

The laws in Tanzania allow for insanity and self-defense to be used as a defense, but this must be raised at the time the person is called upon to plead.^[21] While men have successfully used self-defense and insanity defenses to receive more lenient sentencing, women were not as successful in using self-defense and insanity defenses when reacting to violence experienced by them inflicted by their abusers.

A witness's testimony should be given as truthful and honest, under oath or declaration in accordance with the Tanzanian Oaths and Statutory Declarations Act.^[22] According to Article 198(1) of the Tanzanian Criminal Procedure Act, every witness in a criminal cause or matter shall, subject to the provisions of any other written law to the contrary, be examined under oath.

According to Article 130(1)(a) of the Tanzanian Evidence Code, a husband/wife would not be compelled to testify against their wife/husband unless the wife/husband is charged with an offense under Chapter XV of the Tanzanian Penal Code or under the Law of Marriage Act.

According to Article 141 of the Tanzanian Evidence Code, a witness will not be excused from answering any question relevant to the matter at issue on the grounds that the answer to that question might directly or indirectly incriminate the witness. However, answering will not subject the witness to arrest/prosecution or be used against them except for where the witness is being prosecuted for giving false evidence.

See above.

According to Article 127(7) of the Tanzanian Evidence Code, if the criminal proceedings involve a sexual offense and the only independent evidence is that of a child of tender years (or of a victim of the sexual offense), the court will receive the evidence and may, after assessing the credibility of the evidence on its own merits (notwithstanding that such evidence has not been corroborated), proceed to convict if the court is satisfied that the child (or victim) is telling nothing but the truth.

According to Article 127(2) of the Tanzanian Evidence Code, the court can deem the child to be telling the truth without the child having taken or understanding the nature of an oath, provided the court believes that the child is sufficiently intelligent and understands the duty of telling the truth.

Yes. Under Article 127(2) of the Tanzanian Evidence Act, a child (14 years old or younger) can be called as a witness and can also testify without being under oath if the court believes that the child, while not understanding the nature of an oath, does possess sufficient intelligence to justify the reception of the evidence and understands the duty of telling the truth.

According to Article 127(3) of the Tanzanian Evidence Act, in cases involving a sexual offense, the court can receive and rely on evidence offered by a child or victim as the sole basis (meaning uncorroborated) to support a conviction if the court believes that the child or victim is telling the truth.

See above in relation to Article 127(2) of the Tanzanian Evidence Code.

According to the Tanzanian Penal Code (Chapter XV offenses against morality^[23]), domestic violence can be separated into various types of actions. The punishment or sentencing for first-time offenders varies depending on the severity of the action taken by the defendant and the age of the victim.

According to Tanzanian law, criminal acts that include domestic violence are subject to penalties, mainly imprisonment. The Tanzanian Penal Code (Chapter XV offenses against morality) explains the possible penalties that a defendant found guilty could face.

The concept of "order for protection" is not mentioned in Tanzanian law. The concept of "restraining order" in Section 38 of the Tanzanian Proceeds of Crime Act involves a person's property.

According to Section 38 of the Tanzanian Proceeds of Crime Act, a person that has been convicted of a serious offense or has been or is about to be charged with a serious offense may be subject to a restraining order against all or any specified property, including property acquired after the issue of the restraining order and property of a person other than the convicted person.

However, Section 3 of the Tanzanian Proceeds of Crime Act does not list domestic violence or rape as a "serious offense."

This is not known.