Women and children in Malawi continue to live in a hostile environment, exposing them to various forms of sexual abuse perpetrated by men and fellow women.
Malawi Sexual Reproductive Health Rights Alliance Chairperson, Timothy Mtambo, said this during the final meeting with stakeholders in Mangochi District.
Mtambo said, despite gains Made in empowering girls and women to speak and report cases of sexual violence, there are indicators that women and girls in Malawi continue being subjected to sexual related violence.
“We are happy that the project has managed to empower girls and women to report to authorities whenever they are victimised sexually.
“However, we have discovered that we still have a long way to go before we can celebrate that we have created a safe place for our girls and women,” Mtambo said.
Mtambo faulted some cultural practices, blaming some traditional leaders for encouraging women to remain silent when abused.
Traditional Authority Mponda, who attended the meeting, observed that, on their own, they cannot manage to end cases of violence against women and girls.
He asked civil society organisations and the government to strengthen community policing and child protection structures so that they can ably handle cases of abuse at the community level.
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