Global Progress Towards Ending the Sexual Exploitation of Children
A global problem requires truly global solutions to address the sexual exploitation of children.
Indicators
Age of Consent
No
In mainland Tanzania the age of sexual consent for girls is 18 years. There is no age of consent provided for boys. However, sexual intercourse between spouses does not amount to statutory rape if the girl is above 15 years. The age of sexual consent has not been clearly identified for boys.
In Zanzibar the Age of sexual consent for both boys and girls in Zanzibar is 18 years but exception to criminal liability if a male rapes his minor wife.
The national legislation does not provide for a close-in-age exemption.
DH Legal Analysis Tanzania, 2020
Extraterritoriality & Extradition
No
Active extraterritoriality is provided for OCSE crimes. Double criminality is required in these cases. No information is provided on active or passive extraterritoriality for other SEC-related offences.
Extradition is possible for OCSE crimes. No information is available on whether other SEC-relate offences are extraditable. The principle of double criminality does not apply to extradition cases.
SECTT Legal Checklist Tanzania, 2020
CSAM Definition
Partial
The national legislation (applicable in both Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar) does not provide a definition of CSAM which is in line with international standards. The definition provided does not include depictions of the sexual parts of a child’s body for primarily sexual purposes. Positively, the definition includes material depicting a person appearing to be a child as well as computer/digitally generated CSAM.
In Zanzibar, the national legislation provides a definition which is partially in line with international standards. The inclusion of “by whatever means” appears to imply that the definition covers any type of material. Further, the notion if “representation of a child” may not be necessarily limited to a real child and could cover digitally/computer generated CSAM including realistic images of non-existent children.
DH Legal Analysis Tanzania, 2020
Background Check Required
No
There are no provisions on mandatory background checks.
However, legislation of both Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar stipulate that convicted sex offenders are prohibited from holding some positions involving or facilitating contact with children.
SECTT Legal Checklist Tanzania, 2020
National Commitments
Partial
Tanzania has ratified the CRC, the OPSC, the Trafficking Protocol and the ILO Convention No. 182.
Tanzania has also ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
Tanzania has not ratified the OPIC, the UNWTO Framework Convention on Tourism Ethics nor the AU Convention on Cyber Security and the Council of Europe's Lanzarote and Budapest Conventions.
DH Legal Analysis Tanzania, 2020
Child Advocacy Centers
Not Yet Assessed
SEC Police Unit
Partial
There main police unit including SEC in its mandate at the national level are the Gender and Children's Desks established in a number of police stations. It is unclear if these units are effectively functioning, have been properly staffed or have sufficient resources. It is unclear whether these desks deal with both offences under national and extraterritorial jurisdiction.
Furthermore, Zanzibar has a Child Protection Unit whose mandate includes cases of child abuse and neglect. No information is provided on whether this Unit is effectively functioning, well funded or whether it deals with both offences under national and extraterritorial jurisdiction.
DH Desk-based Research Tanzania, 2020
Protection Standards Travel and Tourism
No
There are no child protection standards for the travel and tourism industry in place.
SECTT Legal Checklist Tanzania, 2020
Public SEC Case Data
Not Yet Assessed
Age of Consent Law is Appropriate
The age of sexual consent for both males and females is 18 and a close in age exemption (up to 3 years) is provided for consensual sexual relationships between adolescents.
The age of sexual consent is the legally defined age at which a person is considered mature enough to agree to sexual activity. The age of sexual consent varies across jurisdictions around the world and there is no international legal instrument establishing it, however various forms of advocacy have encouraged States to establish a minimum age under which engaging in sexual contact is considered a criminal offence. This is intended to prevent sexual contact with children and to prevent argument that the child consented as a defence.
Often national provisions related to the age of sexual consent include an exception, known as a close-in-age exemption, making consensual sexual activities between young people lawful if the partners are of similar ages and the age difference is not higher than a certain number of years.
To ensure that cases of child sexual exploitation do not go unpunished, ECPAT advocates for the age of sexual consent to be set at 18 for both males and females with a close-in-age exemption of 2-3 years provided in order to ensure young people are not penalised for consensual sexual acts with peers. The age from which the exemption applies should be established by States but may begin for young people somewhere between 12 and 16 years of age.
Yes The national legislation explicitly indicates that the age of sexual consent unequivocally is 18 for both males and females, with a close-in-age exemption for sexual acts between peers (of up to 3 years) is provided by law.