Study on violence against children in Malawi

Malawi is a signatory to a number of international human rights instruments, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the International Labour Organisation's conventions on minimum age for employment and on worst forms of child labour. It is obligatory therefore that Malawi should comply with the requirements of these international conventions. The initial report on the CRC describes in detail what the Malawi Government is doing to comply with the convention and also spells out the different problems that hinder implementation of the CRC recommendations.

This study analyses the situation of violence against children in Malawi as outlined below:

• Malawi’s legal framework
• institutional framework and resources to address violence
• role of civil society in addressing violence
• children as actors in addressing violence
• policies and programmes to address violence
• data collection, analysis and research
• awareness, advocacy and training.

The study observes and recommends that:

• the underlying factor behind violence against children in Malawi seems to be poverty at household level
  
• apart from tackling issues of creating awareness about the negative impacts of violence against children, creating a mulitsectoral coordinating body, putting in place a multi sectoral monitoring mechanism and reinforcing legislation
  
• there is a need to train city, town and district assembly staff in order for them to carry out their responsibilities efficiently - this sensitisation should include their role and responsibility in the fight against violence against children.