The use of low-cost legal technology to enhance access to justice for women in Tanzania

This research is motivated by a need to address the 'justice gap' that is evident globally. It is
estimated that 1.5 billion people worldwide (one in 5 people) have justice problems that they
cannot solve . In Tanzania this problem is amplified. Tanzania is ranked 76/128 globally on
measures of affordable, accessible and effective justice solutions for ordinary people (World
Justice Project, 2020 ), with women being disproportionately affected (Dancer, 2015).
Practical solutions directed at addressing this access to justice crisis are often costly and
cumbersome. In Tanzania, paralegals, community justice providers and informal methods of
dispute resolution play a critical role in justice service delivery and dispute resolution but
there are still many citizens left without a pathway to address their justice needs.
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) such as mobile phones, internet and
computer networks, have been utilised globally to improve social and economic
development, and are emerging as tools for international development (ICT4D). In Tanzania,
mobile phone penetration (households with mobile phone ownership) is estimated at 86%
countrywide with 93% of Tanzanians having access to a mobile phone (Lotto,2018). Recent
international development programmes in Tanzania have leveraged mobile phones for micro
finance, education, nutrition, and agriculture activities. The provision of legal services using
ICT, particularly mobile phones, presents an opportunity to transform this sector, creating
opportunities for increased citizen engagement across all levels of justice service delivery,
particularly for women. As the most populous city in Tanzania, and an economic hub, Dar es
Salaam (Dar) has one of the highest levels of mobile phone penetration in Tanzania and will
be the focus of this study (GSMA,2019).
A significant limitation of the current use of ICT4D is that many of the interventions are built
by engineers thousands of miles away from the site of use, interlinked with postcolonial
institutional relationships, diverting control and capital towards external actors, using tools
that need ongoing maintenance and funding to achieve long-term sustainable change or
benefits at scale (Linus, 2020).
This research is a response to these opportunities and limitations. Using a participatory
design process to build a digital justice service tool in collaboration with Tanzanian legal
service providers, this study will critically examine the co-generation of an effective and
sustainable digital justice solution for women in Dar.
This research will make a novel contribution to this field by developing a low-cost, scalable
digital justice tool to bridge the justice gap and support women's legal empowerment; while
generating learning relating to participatory approaches for developing ICT for sustainable
development.