Tanzania Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (VACS) 2024

Tanzania, 2024

Get Microdata

Reference ID

TZA-NBS-VACS-2024-v01

Producer(s)

National Bureau of Statistics, Office of the Chief Government Statistician

Metadata

Documentation in PDF DDI/XML JSON

Created on

Dec 29, 2025

Last modified

Dec 29, 2025

Page views

6664

Downloads

2464

Identification

Survey ID number

TZA-NBS-VACS-2024-v01

Title

Tanzania Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (VACS) 2024

Abbreviation or Acronym

VACS 2024

Country

Name	Country code
United Republic of Tanzania	TZA

Study type

Other Household Health Survey [hh/hea]

Series Information

This survey builds upon a previous VACS conducted in 2009. The 2024 Tanzania Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (VACS) is a nationally representative household survey measuring the prevalence, nature, and consequences of violence against children and yout

Abstract

The Tanzania 2024 Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (VACS) was a nationally representative cross-sectional household survey of children and youth ages 13–24 years. The survey was designed to produce national estimates of experiences of physical, sexual, and emotional violence in childhood. The survey included a randomly selected, representative subset of the population, at one specific point in time, providing estimates of violence indicators by age group, sex, and other demographic factors. All data were collected through an in-person interview with trained interviewers. The survey also included an HIV testing component. The objectives of the Tanzania 2024 VACS were to:

- Estimate the national prevalence of physical, emotional and sexual violence in childhood and young adulthood.
- Identify risk and protective factors for physical, emotional and sexual violence against children and youth in Tanzania to inform stakeholders and guide prevention efforts.
- Identify the health and social correlates of violence against children and youth in Tanzania.
- Assess the knowledge and utilization of medical, psychosocial, legal, and protective services available for children and youth who have experienced violence.
- Make recommendations to relevant ministries in Tanzania, development partners, civil society and other stakeholders on developing, improving, and enhancing prevention and response strategies to address violence against children and youth as part of a comprehensive multi-sectoral approach to child protection.
- Identify areas for future research.

Kind of Data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Unit of Analysis

Households and Individuals

Version

Version Description

v1.0: Final dataset for public use .

Version Date

2025-09-01

Scope

Notes

The VACS questionnaires included a short head-of household survey and a comprehensive participant questionnaire, with separate male and female versions. Key topics included demographics, violence experiences, sexual behavior, HIV service history, and modules on disability, forced marriage, and technology-facilitated violence.

Coverage

Geographic Coverage

National coverage

Universe

Producers and sponsors

Primary investigators

Name	Affiliation
National Bureau of Statistics	The Government of the United Republic of Tanzania
Office of the Chief Government Statistician	The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar

Producers

Name	Affiliation	Role
Ministry of Community Development, Gender, Women and Special Groups in Tanzania Mainland	Governmant of Tanzania	Technical assistance
Ministry of Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children in Zanzibar	Governmant of Tanzania	Technical assistance
Tanzania Health Promotion Support		Technical assistance
United Nations Children’s Fund		Technical assistance
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention		Technical assistance

Funding Agency/Sponsor

Name	Abbreviation	Role
Government of Tanzania	GoT	Fnancial assistance
The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief	PEPFAR	Fnancial assistance

Other Identifications/Acknowledgments

Name	Affiliation	Role
The Ministries of Health	MoH	Technical support
National Institute for Medical Research	NIMR	Technical support
Zanzibar Health Research Institute	ZAHRI	Technical support
President’s Office Regional Administration and Local Government	PO-RALG	Technical support
President’s Office Regional Administration and Local Government and Special Department in Zanzibar	PO-RALGSD	Technical support
National Public Health Laboratory	NPHL	Technical support

Sampling

Sampling Procedure

The Tanzania 2024 VACS used the Tanzania 2022 Tanzania Population and Housing Census. This sample frame was developed and maintained by the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Office of Chief Government Statistician (OCGS) . The survey used a three-stage cluster sampling design. Separate primary sampling units (PSUs) were randomly assigned as male or female enumeration areas (EAs). The Tanzania VACS used a split sample approach, such that the survey for females was conducted in different communities than the survey for males. This approach was to protect the confidentiality of participants by reducing the chance that opposite sex perpetrators and victims will be interviewed in the same community, discover the purpose of the study, and possibly retaliate against participants

The Tanzania VACS used a three-stage sample design:
Stage 1: A total of 500 EAs (369 female EAs and 131 males EAs) were selected from 104,483 EAs in the country using probability proportional to size based on 2022 census and household counts.
Stage 2: 25 households were randomly selected from each of the 500 EAs.
Stage 3: One eligible 13–24-year-old participant was selected from each household. An eligible male or female was selected depending on whether it was a male EA or a female EA

Response Rate

The Overall Response Rate for Heads of Household = Household Listing Response Rate (99.1) x the Heads of Household Response Rate (99.8) = 98.1%

Weighting

To analyze the 2024 Tanzania VACS, a survey weight was calculated for each record. The survey had a nested sampling design where samples were designated as national or regional for the four oversampled regions. However, CDC and its Tanzanian partners agreed to take the entire sample to calculate the national weights instead of separate calculations. They weighted the data to obtain parameters that were representative of the total population of Tanzania children and youth aged 13–24 years old.

A three-step weighting procedure was incorporated:
Step 1: Computation of base weight for each sampled participant;
Step 2: Adjustment of the base weights for differential non-response in the sample; and
Step 3: Calibration of the post-stratification (adjusted) weights to known population totals.

Survey instrument

Questionnaires

The VACS questionnaires included a short head-of household survey and a comprehensive participant questionnaire, with separate male and female versions. Key
topics included demographics, violence experiences, sexual behavior, HIV service history, and modules on disability, forced marriage, and technology-facilitated violence.

Methodology notes

The details is on the attached Tanzania Data User Guide

Data collection

Dates of Data Collection

Start	End
2024-03-01	2024-06-30

Data Collection Mode

Computer Assisted Personal Interview [capi]

Data Collectors

Name	Affiliation	Abbreviation
NATIONAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS	MINISTRY OF FINANCE	NBS
OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT STATISTICIAN	PRESIDENT'S OFFICE - FINANCE AND PLANNING	OCGS

Supervision

Team leaders were identified to provide direct supervision of the overall survey implementation. They did not directly participate in the interview process but oversaw a team of three interviewers throughout the data collection period. The regional oversight role was provided by field supervisors, HTS supervisors, and community engagement officers who were hired by THPS and deployed across Tanzania. The role of field 18 | TANZANIA VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN AND YOUTH SURVEY (VACS) 2024 supervisors was to provide quality assurance and administrative support during fieldwork; HTS supervisors were to provide quality assurance of HIV testing; and community engagement officers oversaw engagement with local
communities.

Data Collection Notes

Data collection was conducted between March 2024 and June 2024. Data collection was done electronically using the Open Data Kit (ODK) program, installed on data collection tablets running on the Android operating system. Data collection was conducted by trained interviewers using a structured questionnaire via face-to-face computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPI) with selected eligible participants. Before data collection began, a field pre-test was conducted. To ensure privacy during the study, interviewers were trained to conduct interviews in safe and secure locations to maximize disclosure and ensure confidentiality. If the privacy of a participant could not be ensured, interviewers were instructed to reschedule the interview. The initial visit record form of the survey tool had a section that allowed the survey team to track incomplete interviews and interviews that needed to be rescheduled. Field teams were trained to make three attempts to reach every sampled household. After three unsuccessful attempts, the selected household was considered as a non-response and was not replaced with another household.

Data processing

Data Editing

Data processing involved various activities which included: - Receiving data electronically from the enumerators tablet to the centrallized server. Computer editing using logics built in the CAPI applications; Data analysis and tabulation using Statistical Package R.

Access policy

Confidentiality

Is signing of a confidentiality declaration required?	Confidentiality declaration text
yes	Confidentiality of respondents is guaranteed by The Statistics Act, [Cap 351 R.E 2019] Before being granted access to the dataset, all users have formally agreed: 1. All identifying information such as the name and address of respondent has been removed; 2. The information is disclosed in a manner that is not likely to enable the identification of the particular person or undertaking or business to which it relates. 3. Not attempt to identify any particular person or undertaking or business; 4. Use of information for research or statistically purpose only; 5. Not to disclose the information to any other person, organization 6. When required by the Statistician General , return all documents made available to him to the Statistician General ; 7. Comply with the directions given by the Statistician General relating to the records. 8. Every person involved in the research or statistical project for which information is disclosed pursuant to this section shall make the declaration of secrecy set out in the first schedule.

Access conditions

Tanzania NBS considered three levels of accessibility:

Public use files, accessible by all
Licensed datasets, accessible under certain conditions
Datasets only accessible on location, for certain datasets
The dataset has been anonymized and available as a public use dataset. It accessible to all for statistical and research purposes only, under the following terms and conditions:

The data and other material will not be redistributed or sold to other individuals, institutions, or organization without the written agreement of the Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics.

The data will be used for statistical and scientific research purposes only. They will be used solely for reporting of aggregated information, and not for investigation of specific individuals or organizations.

No attempt will be made to produce links among dataset provided by the National Bureau of Statistics, or among data from the (National Bureau of Statistics) and other datasets that could identify individuals or organizations.

No attempt will be made to re-identify respondents, and no use will be made of the identify of any person or establishment discovered inadvertently. Any such discovery would immediately be reported to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Any books, articles, conference papers, theses, dissertations, reports, or other publications that employ data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics will cite the source of data in accordance with the Citation Requirement provided with each dataset.

Citation requirements

National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) [Tanzania] 2025. Tanzania Violence Against Children and Youth Survey (VACS) 2024, Dodoma, Tanzania

Access authority

Name	Affiliation	URL	Email
Statistician General National Bureau of Statistics	www.nbs.go.tz		sg@nbs.go.tz
Office of the Chief Government Statistician	www.ocgs.go.tz		www.ocgs.go.tz

Disclaimer and copyrights

Disclaimer

The user of the data should acknowledge that, Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics is the original collector of the data, the authorized distributor of the data, and the relevant funding agency bear no responsibility for use of the data or for interpretations or inferences without a written agreement from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Contacts

Name	Affiliation	Email	URL
Department of Research and Standards	National Bureau of Statistics	mariam.kitembe@nbs.go.tz

Metadata production

DDI Document ID

DDI-TZA-NBS-VACS2024-V1.0

Producers

Name	Abbreviation	Affiliation	Role
National Bureau of Statistics	NBS	Ministry of Finance	Metadata Producer
Office of the Chief Government Statistician Zanzibar	OCGS	President Office- Finance and Planning	Metadata Producer

Date of Metadata Production

2025-12-28

Metadata version

DDI Document version

Version 0.1(December 2025)

Back to Catalog