Rape against women: the magnitude, perpetrators and patterns of disclosure of events in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

This cross-sectional household survey was conducted in Dar es Salaam between July and August 2000. The objectives were to establish the magnitude of rape against women, the perpetrators, disclosure of events and other related factors. Among the 1004 women who completed their interviews, 20% said they were ever raped. The known perpetrators were responsible for 92% of the most recent events. Whereas 34% of events were disclosed for non-legal purposes, only 10% were disclosed to the police. Repeated rape and patterns of disclosure were significantly associated with existing social relationships with the perpetrator. The results indicate that rape against women is a serious public health problem in Dar es Salaam commonly involving people who are close to the victims.