Abstract:
The study examined the economic factors that influence Gender Violence (GBV) among women food vendors at Kiomboi, Misigiri, and Shelui trading centers in Iramba District Council. Economic factors used in this study were women borrowing funds from SACCOS, women's asset ownership, and women's economic empowerment. Moser’s framework and resource theory were used as the theoretical foundation guiding this study. This study adopted a crosssectional design where both independent and dependent variables were assessed at a single time instance. 100 respondents were included in the study. Data was collected by using questionnaires and were analyzed by use of IBM SPSS version 25. Multiple regressions were conducted and the results showed that women borrowing from SACCOS and women's economic empowerment positively and significantly influenced GBV as regards the women food vendors in the study area. On the other hand, the findings of the study revealed that women's asset ownership positively and insignificantly influences GBV as regards the women's food vendors in the study area. Authors recommend that capacity building should be given to women and men on the effects of GBV. Financial institutions should be flexible for women entrepreneurs to access credits following an easy process and fewer conditions to reduce GBV emanating from involving in business. Local government authorities should design training programs for various stakeholders on GBV and policy enforcement to reduce GBV. Other studies can be done in other regions in Tanzania where women's food vending business is prevalent and focus on socio-cultural factors that influence gender-based violence.
