Child Protection A Literature Review 1

CHILD PROTECTION IN MALAWI: A REVIEW OF
LITERATURE
by
Alister Munthali, Peter Mvula and George Mandere

Centre for Social Research, P.O. Box 278, Zomba. Email: [email protected]
Submitted to UNICEF
March 2006
1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank, wholeheartedly, the Ministry of Gender, Child Welfare and
Community Development, UNICEF and all stakeholders for entrusting the Centre for
Social Research to conduct this exercise. We appreciate all the support that stakeholders
have rendered to us during the implementation of this exercise. Your support is not taken
for granted. We would also like to thank all the people that we met in libraries and
documentation centres for making available the different reports that we reviewed.
Without you, the report would not have been completed.
Alister Munthali, Peter Mvula and George Mandere

March 2005, Zomba
2
ABBREVIATIONS
AIDS Acquired Immuno-deficiency Syndrome

ANC Antenatal Clinic
CBO Community Based Organisation
CNSP Children in Need of Special Protection
CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child
HIV Human Immunovirus
ICF International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health
ILO International Labour Organisation
IPEC International Programme on Elimination of Child Labour
MEGS Malawi Economic Growth Strategy
MHRC Malawi Human Rights Commission
MHRRC Malawi Human Rights Resource Centre
MPRSP Malawi Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
PMTCT Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV
UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund
WHO World Health Organisation
3
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...........................................................................................................................2
ABBREVIATIONS.........................................................................................................................................3
1.0 INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................................6
1.1 UNDERSTANDING CHILD PROTECTION....................................................................................................6
1.2 BACKGROUND TO THIS PAPER................................................................................................................6
1.3 METHODOLOGY......................................................................................................................................8
2.0 CHILD LABOUR.....................................................................................................................................8
2.1 DEFINITION AND PREVALENCE OF CHILD LABOUR.................................................................................8
2.2 POLICY AND LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORKS ON CHILD LABOUR..............................................................10
2.3 WHY CHILDREN WORK......................................................................................................................... 10
2.4 EFFECTS OF CHILD LABOUR ON CHILDREN...........................................................................................11
2.5 SOCIAL SHOCKS ON CHILD LABOUR......................................................................................................12
2.6 LIBERALISATION OF TOBACCO AND CHILD LABOUR.............................................................................13
2.7 PREFERENCES FOR CHILDREN...............................................................................................................13
2.8 COMMUNITIES’ VIEWS ABOUT ELIMINATING CHILD LABOUR...............................................................14
2.9 CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................................................15
3.0 ORPHANS..............................................................................................................................................16
3.1 PREVALENCE OF ORPHANHOOD IN MALAWI........................................................................................17
3.2 CARE FOR ORPHANED CHILDREN..........................................................................................................18
3.3 NEEDS OF ORPHANED CHILDREN..........................................................................................................19
3.4 SOME COMMUNITY SUGGESTIONS ON HOW ORPHAN CARE CAN BE IMPROVED....................................20
3.5 IDENTIFYING THE MOST VULNERABLE ORPHANS: COMMUNITIES’ PERCEPTIONS.................................21
4.0 CHILD TRAFFICKING........................................................................................................................21
4.1 DEFINING CHILD TRAFFICKING.............................................................................................................21
4.2 CHILD TRAFFICKING IN MALAWI.........................................................................................................22
4.2.1 Salient features of child trafficking in Malawi.............................................................................22
4.2.2 The Victims of Trafficking............................................................................................................22
4.2.3 Who are the perpetrators of child trafficking...............................................................................23
4.2.4 The scale of trafficking.................................................................................................................23
4.2.5 Recruitment...................................................................................................................................24
4.2.6 Routes Followed...........................................................................................................................24
4.2.7Exploitation....................................................................................................................................24
4.2.8 Prosecution...................................................................................................................................25
4.2.9 Prevention.....................................................................................................................................26
5.0 JUVENILE JUSTICE............................................................................................................................26
5.1 DEFINING JUVENILE JUSTICE................................................................................................................ 26
5.2 CHILDREN IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW...............................................................................................27
5.3 THE STATE OF JUVENILE JUSTICE.........................................................................................................27
5.3.1 Mode of arrest and detention........................................................................................................27
5.3.2 Initial Court Appearance and sentencing.....................................................................................28
5.3.3 Other Considerations....................................................................................................................28
5.4 CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................................................29
6.0 CHILD REFUGEES..............................................................................................................................29
7.0 STREET CHILDREN............................................................................................................................30
7.1 NUMBER OF CHILDREN ON THE STREETS IN MALAWI..........................................................................30
4
7.2 WHY CHILDREN GO ONTO THE STREET AND WHAT THEY DO...............................................................30
7.3 PROBLEMS FACED BY STREET CHILDREN..............................................................................................31
7.4 ATTEMPTS TO ADDRESS PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED BY STREET CHILDREN............................................32
7.5 CONCLUDING REMARKS........................................................................................................................32
8.0 CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES....................................................................................................32
8.1 PREVALENCE OF DISABILITY................................................................................................................32
8.2 THE PLIGHT OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES......................................................................................33
8.3 ATTEMPTS TO ADDRESS PROBLEMS FACED BY CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES.....................................34
9.0 SEXUAL ABUSE AND VIOLENCE....................................................................................................35
10. CONCLUSIONS.....................................................................................................................................36
11. REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................................38
5
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Understanding child protection
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has been in the forefront in advocating
child protection issues at a global level. According to UNICEF, this is receiving growing
attention worldwide including at the highest levels of government 1. Child protection
means protection of children from violence, abuse and exploitation and it covers a wide
range of issues including child labour, sexual exploitation of children, trafficking and sale
of children, children in armed conflict, juvenile justice, street children, and orphans
among other groups. Children have the right to protection and violations of this right
constitute important barriers to child survival and development. The experiencing of poor
health, dropping out of school, shortened lives and homelessness among others are
consequences of violations of children’s right to protection. At a global level, it is
estimated that 211 million children aged between 5 and 14 years are involved in
economic activities and 73 million of these are aged less than 10 years old 2.
Approximately 40% of these working children are found in Africa. Approximately 1
million new child labourers are expected each year 3. According to UNICEF, more than 1
million children are in detention because of being in conflict with the law; 1.2 million
children are trafficked every year; and that more than 40 million children below the age
of 15 suffer from abuse and neglect4.
These statistics demonstrate the need for individual countries to put child protection as a
priority. According to UNICEF, children can only grow up physically and mentally
healthy, self-respecting and less likely to abuse or exploit others if they grow up in a
protective environment. Serious child protection problems are however created by the
occurrence of emergences and other social shocks. For example, while the problem of
orphanhood is not new in Sub-Saharan Africa, the advent of the HIV and AIDS epidemic
has created mass orphanhood. In families and communities where economically
productive young men and women are dying of HIV and AIDS related causes, the major
challenge is to build a protective environment that will ensure that the orphans grow up
with all their needs provided. Some studies have demonstrated that orphaned children are
more likely to engage in child labour and being sexually exploited (hence at risk of
contracting HIV and STIs and getting unwanted pregnancies) in order to ensure that their
needs are addressed5. Recent studies conducted by the Centre for Social Research of the
University of Malawi have also demonstrated that the occurrence of severe hunger or
famine because of crop failure results into withdrawal of children from school and being
involved in child labour6. It is therefore in the interest of all countries that children should
be protected from violence, abuse and exploitation otherwise development aspirations as
laid down in the Millennium Development Goals will not be achieved.
1.2 Background to this paper
In Malawi, cases of child abuse, violence and exploitation including sexual abuse have
been increasingly reported although empirical and reliable statistics are in most cases not
available. Currently, the documentation and reporting of cases of child abuse, violence
6
and exploitation are not properly coordinated and reported; hence the magnitude of the
problem of child abuse, violence and exploitation is largely unknown. However, there are
a number of studies and reports that shed some light on the different types of abuse,
violence and exploitation affecting children in Malawi. Children in need of special
protection are more likely to be abused and exploited. Sometimes sex is considered as the
only option for them to make a living. As households lose economically productive
members to the HIV and AIDS epidemic, they become economically insecure and
orphans have to adopt increasingly risky coping strategies. Girls seem to be especially
vulnerable to family abuse and violence, including incest and total neglect and newspaper
articles on these issues are not uncommon in the Malawian media 7. In some cases reports
are largely anecdotal or based on incomplete but valuable observations of NGOs and
Government institutions working with children in need of special protection (e.g. children
in prisons and Reformatory Schools, orphans, street children, children involved in
domestic child labour, girls).
The Government of Malawi in collaboration with UNICEF and other stakeholders are in
the process of implementing a Child Protection Programme with support from NORAD
and the US Government. The programme, among other things, seeks to create a
protective environment and contribute to the progressive elimination of children’s abuse,
violence and exploitation in Malawi. The specific objectives of the programme are:
 To prevent any kind of exploitation, violence and abuse at all levels of society,
and to ensure that children at risk do not become more vulnerable;
 To protect children already exposed to situations that might harm their physical,
intellectual, emotional and psychological development; and
 To rehabilitate and reintegrate children who have been exposed to abuse and
exploitation.

The programme will use a mix of cross-sectoral and integrated strategies to respect and
fulfil children’s rights as expressed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
and other international legal instruments. The programme will also aim at creating an
enabling environment to prevent abuses and protect and rehabilitate children already
subject to abuse. A number of strategies such as advocacy and awareness raising,
community participation, children and youth participation, capacity building and delivery
of appropriate services have been suggested as possible ways of achieving the objectives
of the overall programme.
However, before the implementation the Child Protection Programme, a comprehensive

baseline survey should be conducted in order to determine the scope and magnitude of
the problems experienced by children in need of special protection. Participants who
attended a National Technical Working Group on Child Protection workshop held in
Limbe from 31st August 2005 to 2nd September 2005 classified Children in Need of
Special Protection (CNSP) into 9 categories namely children suffering from HIV and
AIDS including orphaned children, trafficked children, children with disabilities,
orphans, children involved in child labour8, street children9, children in conflict with the
law, sexually abused children10 and refugee children. It was agreed at the Limbe
7
workshop that there was need to initially review existing literature/studies that have been
done on children in need of special protection before conducting a nationwide baseline
survey on child protection.
This review of literature on child protection was deemed necessary as it will help
determine the extent to which issues concerning the 9 identified groups of children in
need of special protection have been dealt with before. The review of literature will also
help identifying groups of children in need of special protection which have not been
adequately researched. Such an exercise will therefore further help in identifying only
those categories of children in need of special attention which should be included in the
baseline survey as they have not been adequately studied.
1.3 Methodology
Various NGOs, government ministries and departments and the donor community have
been involved in conducting studies on children in need of special protection. The
research team visited UNICEF, Ministry of Gender, Child Welfare and Community
Development, the UN Resource Centre, Malawi Human Rights Commission, libraries
(National Library, Kamuzu College of Nursing Library and Chancellor College Library)
and various NGOs dealing with children in need of special protection in Lilongwe and
Blantyre and collected literature on children in need of special protection. This literature
was reviewed and is synthesised. Sequentially, the report looks at child labour, children
with AIDS including orphans, street children, children with disabilities, and child abuse
including violence perpetrated against children.
2.0 CHILD LABOUR
2.1 Definition and prevalence of child labour
Child labour is recognised as a growing global problem and it is defined as work

performed by children which is considered detrimental to their physical and mental
development11. Child labour is characterised by, among other things, long working hours
and constitutes work that has negative impacts on the health and well being of the child
and is disruptive to the child’s chances of getting a better education. The employment of
children aged less than 15 years, as provided for in the ILO Convention No. 138 on
minimum age for employment, is prohibited. Some member states of the International
Labour Organisation have put in place legislative frameworks which are consistent with
this ILO Convention12. Even though there is this and other provisions against child
labour, children are increasingly being involved in child labour. There are approximately
211 million children aged between 5 and 14 years working in economic activities
throughout the world and 40% of these are found in Africa 13.Malawi is one of the
countries where child labour is most prevalent.
In 1987, the labour force in Malawi was estimated at 43% of the population and at the
time, this implied that 3.5 million people were working. Further analysis of the census
also showed that 11% of the children aged 10-14 years were in paid employment while
8
for the age group 15-19 years the labour force participation was much higher at 42%. 14.
The 1998 Population and Housing Census showed that out of 9.9 million enumerated,
about 6.8 million were persons aged 10 years and above and 66% of these were
economically productive with more than 75% being subsistence farmers. The census also
revealed that at national level agriculture and related activities constitute a major
economic activity for persons aged 10 years and above15. Earlier in 1995 approximately
35.2% of the children aged between 10 and 14 years were estimated to be in paid
employment16.
In 2000, the Demographic and Health Survey found that, overall, 27% of the children
were either engaged in paid or unpaid work for a non-relative or spending four or more
hours a day doing household chores, with older children being more likely working than
younger children. Most of these children were found to be involved in family business or
family farm. The survey also revealed that 13.8% of the children aged 5-9 were working
at the time of the survey17.
With funding from the International Labour Organisation, the National Statistical Office
and the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training conducted a child labour survey
which looked at children aged 5-9 years old in addition to those aged 10+. According to
this survey, 60% of the population aged 5 years and above were engaged in economic
activities 7 days prior to the survey. The Survey also found that 24% and 47.6% of the
children aged 5-9 years and 10-14 years, respectively, were economically active 7 days
prior to the survey18. In this survey working children were defined as the ones aged 5-17
years who are involved either in economic or non-economic activities. The period of
engagement in these activities varies in either the previous seven days or the previous 12
months. This study showed that 38.6% of the children aged 5-17 years were involved in
usual economic activities while the rest were either idle or involved in usual non-
economic activities. This study further showed that most of the children who were
economically active were engaged in agriculture as the main activity and these were
mainly working on the family’s farm.
While the 2002 child labour study found that most of the working children were involved
in agricultural and related activities, there are also a number of studies which have been
done in agricultural estates aimed at determining the prevalence of child labour. For
example Matemba and Dzilankhulani found that there were 37 smallholder estates around
Dwangwa in Nkhota Kota District in central Malawi and over 60% of these estates
employed children either as tenants or as labourers. According to this study, 90% of the
children engaged in child labour were from the poorer families, particularly those which
were female headed19.
The ILO sponsored a baseline study which was conducted in Mzimba, Kasungu, Mchinji
and Mangochi Districts and these districts were chosen because they host commercial
estates. The study was conducted to provide baseline data for the International
Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) programme. This study found
that 38% of the children were reported working in the period 7 days prior to the survey
and more than 75% of these worked in their family farm while 24% worked outside their
9
home. Over 90% of these children were aged less than 14 years old 20. There have been
claims that child domestic labour is rampant in Malawi, and, a recent study conducted in
some selected districts in Malawi found that out of the 1,481 children in sampled
households, 1.8% were house servants. There were 2.2% of the households which
reported that they had children working elsewhere as child domestic labourers 21. These
studies demonstrate that child labour exists in Malawi and hence the need to eliminate it.
2.2 Policy and legislative frameworks on child labour
The Employment Act of 2000 prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14
years (Section 21) and further protects children aged 14-17 years old from being
employed in hazardous work (Section 22) as defined by the International Labour
Organisation. In addition to the Employment Act, the Constitution of the Republic of
Malawi also provides protection of children from economic exploitation or any treatment,
work or punishment that is, or is likely to be hazardous; interfere with their education; or
be harmful to their health or to their physical, mental or spiritual or social development
(see Section 23). Malawi is also one of the countries that have ratified the Convention on
the Rights of the Child which was adopted by the United Nations in 1989. The
Convention protects children's rights by setting standards in health care, education and
legal, civil and social services. These standards are benchmarks against which progress
can be assessed. The CRC emphasises that a child has the right to be protected from work
that jeopardises his or her health, education or development. It calls for States to set the
minimum age for employment and the need to regulate working conditions. Malawi has
only sent the initial report on the progress made in implementing the CRC. This initial
CRC report acknowledges the existence of child labour especially among the tenant
farmers22. Malawi has also ratified ILO Convention 138 of 1973 on Minimum Age for
Employment and Convention 182 of 1999 on Worst Forms of Child Labour. Despite the
existence of these legislative frameworks, the major problem in Malawi is
implementation as child labour is still rampant as demonstrated earlier. While these
international and national pieces of legislation exist, the major problem is the lack of
enforcement. The lack of enforcement has been attributed to weaknesses in the inspection
system, especially the fact that they are understaffed, inadequately trained, the general
lack of transportation and the lack of access to workplaces where child labour is
prevalent, for example private residences23.
2.3 Why children work
While the Employment Act and other legislative instruments of the Government of
Malawi prohibit the employment of children aged less than 14 years, child labour is,
however, still widespread in Malawi. A number of studies have been done aimed at
determining factors that lead to the practice of child labour. This section briefly discusses
reasons why children work.
Children in general work because of poverty-related reasons for example they work to
supplement household income, lack of financial resources to purchase basic household
needs, parents not being able to afford school fees and assisting households to acquire
10
food in times of severe food shortages 24. Tsoka and Konyani also found that in some
cases children decide to work because being part of the household and realising the
gravity of the problem, they feel they have to contribute 25. Despite the fact that employers
are supposed to know the evils of employing children, they still employ them. On why
employers prefer employing children a number of reasons have been advanced but the
major reasons are that children are cheap as they are paid far less than what an adult
would demand; that children are honest; submissive and obedient; that some tasks are
done better by children than adults; and in some cases the fear by wives and husbands
that adults would develop sexual relationships with spouses26.
Poverty and related factors are the main reasons why children work. For example studies
have shown that the lack of educational materials such as notebooks, pens and uniform
might force children to abandon school temporarily and do ganyu (piece work) in order to
realize some money which they can use to purchase these items. At the same time in a
study done by the Malawi Human Rights Commission, it has been found that long
distances to educational institutions might force children to drop out of school and
instead look for employment. For parents who have not gone to school and do not
appreciate the importance of school, it is in most cases highly unlikely that they can
encourage their children to go to school 27. There are also some cultural practices that
discourage children from continuing with school. For example once boys are initiated it
has been found in certain circumstances that they lose interest in school and hence decide
to seek employment instead of going to school28.
HIV and AIDS is also one of the major factors contributing to child labour. The epidemic
is mostly claiming the lives of young men and women who are economically productive
and leaving behind orphans and the elderly who may, in most cases, not be able to care
for themselves. Mass orphanhood has been created because of the HIV and AIDS
epidemic and it is estimated that there are over 1 million orphans in Malawi 29. These
orphans are increasingly fending for themselves and in some cases even looking after
their siblings and grandparents as a result of their parents dying of AIDS. The loss of
adult labour to the HIV/AIDS pandemic does not present any other option for livelihoods
apart from children seeking employment30.
What is apparent, however, is that poverty, in a way, is a major cause of child labour. The
need to provide for themselves and their families (because of the failure of parents to
provide or because parents have died) forces a lot of children to work. The Malawi
Human Rights Commission in their report on child labour says that many families are
very poor and there is constant hunger, hence children have to work in order to assist
their parents in providing food for the family. Although this is the case, it will also be
seen later and as others31 have also argued that in some cases children consciously opt to
work because of the prevailing poverty, among other factors. Therefore, it can be seen
that in order to eliminate child labour, there is need, first of all, to address the problem of
poverty. There have been, as described below, responses both at global as well as
national level to address the problem of child labour.
11
2.4 Effects of child labour on children
A number of studies have been done to determine the effects of work on children. The
problems that working children experience are many but in most cases they are related to
ill treatment including being physically beaten, being assigned too much and hazardous
work not appropriate for their age; being shouted at without any proper reason; and being
assigned work they were not employed for, among other problems. In some cases
orphaned children are the ones who are often mistreated because they have nowhere to
complain. Children involved in child labour, in most cases, work outside their parents’
homes, hence they lack parental care32. With these problems it is apparent that child
labour has effects on the health, education and social/moral development of the child.
Studies done by the Centre for Social Research have generally shown that working
children are not healthy mainly because of being subjected to heavy workloads and
working for long hours and in some cases not eating or eating less food 33. Munthali has
also alluded to the problems that girl child labourers experience who in some cases can
be impregnated by their male employers only to deny responsibility. Being a child
worker, she could not refuse sex because of fear that her boss can dismiss her. This puts
the girl child at risk of contracting unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections
including HIV and AIDS34.
In general, it has been found that working children do not do well in school as they do not
have adequate time to study and do their homework as they spend most of the time
working. In most cases, they are absent from school and the net result is that they perform
poorly in school and fail examinations. Eventually, working children drop out of school
to concentrate on work. Even though some children work and study, in some cases
employers do not allow children to work as well as attend school; hence they have to
make decisions and choose one which in most cases is work over school. Therefore, child
labour affects school attendance and performance and it is a major cause of school
absenteeism and dropping out of school
2.5 Social shocks on child labour
It has been mentioned earlier that the HIV and AIDS epidemic is one of the major shocks
that has led to increase in magnitude of orphans and sibling headed households. In 2003,
the International Labour Organisation commissioned a study to explore the impact of
famine on child labour. This study found that severe famine impacts negatively on
children and even adults as the prevalence of malnutrition increases significantly and that
during such times it is not uncommon to have many deaths. Children even withdrew from
school because they were very weak and could not walk. In some cases, even teachers
sent the children back because it was unthinkable for children to learn on an empty
stomach and some schools were even closed. With regard to working, this study found
that a significant proportion of children withdrew from school during the months when
famine was severe and worked, especially older children aged 9-17 in order to contribute
to their households’ search for food. Some of the ganyus children did included herding
livestock, weeding in other people’s gardens, making ridges for sweet potatoes, fetching
water for restaurants, ferrying sand from the dambos, and during the tobacco harvest
12
period they were involved in plucking and sewing of tobacco leaves. Child labour
impacts negatively on the health and general well-being of children. In summary and as
others have pointed out, child labour in general deprives society of a skilled workforce
and hence perpetuates poverty, impairs the physical, intellectual or emotional
development of the child, results into poor performance in school due to fatigue, early
termination of school, long periods of exhaustion and that it cripples national
development. These impacts of child labour are a manifest of the denial of children’s
human rights and well-being which should, after all, be discouraged.
2.6 Liberalisation of tobacco and child labour
The studies on child labour done by the Centre for Social Research also explored how
government policies, especially the liberalisation of the growing of tobacco might have
impacted on child labour. Before the 1990s the growing of tobacco was greatly controlled
and the crop was mainly grown by the estate sub-sector on a quota basis and through
issuing of licences. At the time, the Special Crops Act did not allow smallholder farmers
to grow high value crops such as tobacco. Even though it has been argued that the
strategy was introduced to stabilise tobacco prices, the Special Crops Act in essence
denied smallholder farmers opportunities to grow cash crops that would make them
realise good incomes hence alleviate their poverty. The Government of Malawi started
implementing structural adjustment programmes in the early 1980s and as part of this
programme, the agricultural sector experienced a number of reforms which included the
removal of agricultural input subsidies and the easing of restrictions on the production of
certain export crops, including tobacco.
It has been argued that the enforcement of the Special Crops Act was somehow beneficial
because at the time, what Tsoka and Konyani term formal employment of children, was
non-existent as adult labour was in abundance. For the first time, with the liberalisation of
tobacco growing, smallholder farmers were given an opportunity to participate in tobacco
production and this led to an increase in the production of tobacco as well as private
sector participation in the marketing of agricultural produce. These reforms in general led
to an increase in income for the rural poor. While this was indeed useful, it can also be
argued that the liberalization of tobacco somehow freed adult labour who opted to grow
their own tobacco other than being tenants. This put a lot of pressure on estates such that
the “opportunity” arose to employ children35. Tsoka and Konyani have further argued that
the liberation of tobacco growing and increased participation of the smallholders in the
cultivation of this crop also somehow has kept the children on the farm to help their
parents when there is high demand for labour. While indeed the occurrence of social
shocks such as hunger may force children to engage in child labour, one other thing that
should be considered is that tobacco growing needs very intensive labour. The
liberalization of tobacco therefore led to a substantial increase in the demand for casual
agricultural labour36 including child labour.
2.7 Preferences for children
13
It is important to know what children would prefer doing currently between working and
going to school. Studies have shown that the majority of the children would prefer
pursuing education because once they are educated there are opportunities of getting a
good job and they can earn money with which they can meet their needs including
helping their parents. The disadvantage of the provision of unskilled labour, as is the case
with child labour, is that once one is fired, it becomes increasingly difficult to find
another job. An educated person would easily find another job once after being fired and
would be in a better position as well to understand and utilise modern agricultural
technologies. These sentiments were expressed by both children and members of the
community. Very few children mentioned that they would prefer to work other than
schooling because they want money immediately to buy their immediate needs such as
clothes, soap and food. Working was chosen over schooling because it was work which
was to address their immediate needs. Tsoka and Konyani who did their study in 4
districts namely Mchinji, Kasungu, Mangochi and Mzimba districts found that the
majority of the children in Mchinji (71%), Kasungu (80%) and Mzimba (81%) preferred
going to school while only 45% of the children in Mangochi said that they preferred
going to school. A lot therefore needs to be done in Mangochi in order to withdraw
children from work.
Even though most children would prefer going to school other than working, it has been
found out that there are certain factors that would hinder them from pursuing education.
Poverty has been mentioned as one of the major factors that may hinder these children
from pursuing further education as parents may fail to pay school fees and purchase
school uniform and other necessities such as clothes, Vaseline, soap and note books. The
lack of school materials and good clothes can also make children not to want to go to
school. As a result they said that he or she would lose interest and drop out of school
completely. Due to poverty, parents may not be able to purchase fertiliser hence poor
harvest which will lead to persistent hunger. Children will be withdrawn from school to
engage in child labour and contribute to household search for food. In addition to this,
schools are located very far and in some cases they are not even accessible especially
during the rainy season hence children may drop out of school.
Early pregnancies, peer pressure, being an orphan and parents’ perceptions about school
are some of the factors that might hinder children from pursuing education. Some of the
parents do not appreciate the importance of school, hence they send their children to
work during school time. Many parents would want their children to pursue education
and not working. But in order for this to be achieved there is a need for all the
constraining factors as discussed above to be addressed.
2.8 Communities’ views about eliminating child labour
The main actors in the fight against child labour are parents, traditional leaders and the
community, employers, civil society organisations and government. Parents have the
responsibility of making decisions regarding whether their children should go to school
or work. Tsoka and Konyani reported that the people they interviewed suggested that,
14
because of their central role, parents should send their children to school and ensure that
there is time for studying and doing homework after school. The work that parents should
assign to their children should also be light and commensurate with age and that they
should never be told to do work that is beyond their capability. In relation to orphans, it
was also suggested that guardians should treat them as their own children when assigning
them chores37. It can therefore be seen that parents can contribute significantly to
combating child labour but in a context where poverty is most prevalent it is increasingly
difficult for parents not to let their children to work.
The study further suggests the role that traditional leaders, as custodians of culture, can
play in combating child labour. White et al have described widows as major victims of
property dispossession and property dispossession is not uncommon in Malawi 38. Other
studies have also alluded to orphans as victims of dispossession 39. In their study, Tsoka
and Konyani also report that their informants suggested that traditional leaders should
have the responsibility of ensuring that orphans get all the property that their parents left
behind as this would reduce the likelihood for them to work to get money, food and other
basic necessities and that all members of the community who mistreat children should be
punished. Community members are also supposed to identify cases of child labour and
other forms of child abuse and report them accordingly.
For employers there were a number of suggestions and these included that they should
stop employing child labourers while other said that they should consider age when
assigning responsibilities to children. For those employing child domestic workers, the
suggestion was that they should allow them to go to school as well. With regard to the
role of civil society, the suggestions were that they should be involved in conducting
civic education on the evils of child labour; provision of agricultural farm inputs either
free of charge or on loan to poor households, and thirdly the provision of free food and
feeding programmes to poor households. For Government the suggestion was that it
should mainly be responsible for civic education and development of policies and
legislation on issues relating to child labour, among other things. It seems communities
and the different players are aware of the activities that need to be put in place in order to
combat child labour but the problem is how these can be operationalised and
implemented in resource poor environments.
2.9 Conclusion
A number of studies, including the 2002 Child Labour Survey, have been done on child
labour and the fact is that child labour exists in Malawi. A number of recommendations
have been made and these have included the development of a clear child labour policy
that will guide the fight against child labour in Malawi; the strengthening of the labour
inspectorate (including provision of transport, training, adequate funding, and
empowering the inspectors to inspect homes for child domestic labourers); the
introduction of compulsory education which would provide for child employment to be
outlawed; continued civic education about the dangers of child labour; and establishment
and empowerment of community level monitoring committees.
15
Poverty is the major reason why children work and addressing poverty would eliminate
child labour. Malawi has developed very good policies aimed at alleviating poverty for
example the Malawi Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (MPRSP) and now the Malawi
Economic Growth Strategy (MEGS). If these are implemented successfully the levels of
poverty in Malawi would greatly be reduced. The occurrence of famine results into
children withdrawing from school and seeking employment to contribute to household
food requirements. Ensuring that children have food during famine periods either through
school feeding programmes or introduction of irrigation technology to ensure food
security at household level would keep children in school and reduce incidence of child
labour. Other initiatives such as civic education and introduction of compulsory
education may not work if poverty still prevails and households still experience food
shortages.
3.0 ORPHANS
In Malawi, heterosexual intercourse accounts for 90% of the HIV cases 40. Since the first
case of AIDS was diagnosed in 1985, the number of cases of AIDS has been increasing.
Among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in
Blantyre in the mid 1980s, HIV prevalence was estimated at 2.6 percent and by 2001 it had
risen to 28.5% 41. The prevalence of HIV nationwide rose to 16.4% by 1999 and then
started declining42. The National AIDS Commission estimates that in 2004 HIV
prevalence was 14.2% among the 15-49 years age group43. The prevalence of HIV
infection in the adult population has remained constant in the last seven years. In Malawi,
Other routes of transmission include MTCT and blood transfusion. The use of
intravenous drugs and homosexuality are rare in Malawi. However, homosexuality has
been reported to be common in prisons. Juveniles are particularly at risk and in some
prisons such as Maula and Chichiri nearly all those who reported peri-natal abscesses
were juveniles. This emphasises the need for juvenile offenders to be kept separately
from the adult population.
In order to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV, Malawi is implementing

PMTCT programmes. While PMTCT services, especially voluntary counselling and
testing, are offered to all pregnant women, the provision of ART to prevent mother to
child transmission only target mothers who have been found HIV+. The number of
people going for PMTCT services has been increasing over the years as can be seen from
the following figure:
16
The major reasons for the increase in women going for PMTCT is that the National
HIV/AIDS Policy provides for the routine testing of “all pregnant women attending
antenatal clinics unless they specifically choose to decline”. In 2004 14% of the women
attending ANC were found HIV+, a figure equivalent to the national HIV prevalence.
According to the National AIDS Commission, 2.0% of HIV+ pregnant women were
receiving a complete course of ARV prophylaxis to reduce the risk of MTCT and this
figure increased to 2.3% in 2004. In 2004, it was estimated that 7% of the health facilities
were providing at least the minimum package of PMTCT services and this was an
increase from 3.6% in 2003. These services are provided in order to prevent the
transmission of HIV from mother to child. As of November 2005, just over 30,000
persons in Malawi were on ARVs. ARVs are necessary as they prolong the lives of
parents, and hence delay the onset of orphanhood.
3.1 Prevalence of orphanhood in Malawi
Orphanhood is not a new problem in Malawi but with the advent of the HIV and AIDS
epidemic, one of the major concerns is the growing number of children losing their
parents and the tremendous strains faced by relatives, institutions, and society at large in
dealing with mass orphanhood. The Government of Malawi defines an orphan as a child
who has lost one or both parents because of death and is under the age of 18 years 44.
According to the National Statistical Office, there were a total of 568,000 people aged
less than 20 who had lost one or both parents45. Currently, it is estimated that there are
1,008,000 orphans in Malawi and half of these are due to HIV and AIDS 46.Without
parents to care for them, children are especially vulnerable in terms of their survival,
protection and development. The death of young and economically productive men and
women as a result of HIV and AIDS deprives children and their grandparents of people
who can offer the informal social security these vulnerable sections of the population
badly need. Since the problem of mass orphanhood created by the HIV and AIDS
17
epidemic became apparent in the early 1990s, a number of studies have been done in
Malawi to determine the problems experienced by orphaned children, the coping
mechanism that orphans use to address the problems they face and what needs to be done
in order to address these problems.
3.2 Care for orphaned children
The Government of Malawi recommends that as much as possible orphaned children

should be kept within the communities and that the institutionalisation of orphans should
be the last resort. While orphanages have been established in Malawi, when both parents
die, a number of studies have found that it is mostly the extended family system that
takes care of the orphaned children. There are differences between matrilineal and
patrilineal societies in the way orphans are taken care of. In matrilineal societies which
are more prevalent in the Central and Southern Regions of Malawi, orphaned children are
cared for by maternal relatives as children belong to the mothers’ side. The uncle,
popularly known as “mwini mbumba”, plays an important role in making decisions about
how his deceased sister’s children will be taken of. In the patrilineal societies, mostly
found in Northern Malawi and in the southern district of Nsanje, children belong to the
fathers’ family47. Cook et al have also found that while the mother takes care of the
children when the father dies, in patrilineal societies when the mother dies the paternal
grandmother will care for the child whilst in matrilineal communities this responsibility
falls on the matrilineal grandmother. This study further found that in matrilineal societies
a husband returns to his home village and in some cases may have very little or no
contact with his children while in patrilineal societies traditionally the husband’s young
brother marries the widow. This practice is however on the decline as widows are
increasingly being looked at as damaged goods if it is known that the husband died of
HIV and AIDS related illnesses. It has been argued that wife inheritance is a form of
informal social security for the woman and the child that is left behind48.
The lack of inheritance rights for women in patrilineal societies further limits orphaned
children’s rights to inheritance49. The problem with HIV and AIDS is that both parents
die as the disease is sexually transmitted and in most cases the care of orphaned children
is in the hands of grandparents. The same study revealed it is generally more painful to
lose a mother than losing a father50 and this study further reports that in the past orphans
only knew that they were orphans when they were told and at the time there were very
few. The extended family system is still functional but has been overstretched hence the
evolution of new models of orphan care such as institutionalisation.
In addition to these forms of care, faith based institutions are also playing an important
role in the provision of care and support to orphaned children. The church is increasingly
being perceived as a social parent that provides spiritual and moral support to its
members. Mastwijk, working in western Rumphi, reports that she found church guild
members collectively cultivating maize in gardens belonging to the church and the maize
is sold and distributed to the destitute in the community. Church members are also
requested to contribute part of their yield after harvest to the church so that it can be used
for assisting the needy in the community51.
18
The establishment of community-based organisations to deal with an increase in the
number of orphans and provide home-based care is a recent development in Malawi
communities. Most of these have been established as a direct response to the HIV and
AIDS epidemic. The establishment of the organisations has helped alleviate some of the
problems faced by orphans. The National AIDS Commission through umbrella
organisations and international agencies such as UNICEF are funding the operations of
these CBOs. Some CBOs raise money by organising income generating activities like
“big walks” and asking for contributions from the members of the community. These
NGOs and CBOs are mostly providing support to address the physical needs of orphans
and other vulnerable children for example provision of loans to start small-scale
businesses and purchasing farm inputs; creating awareness about HIV and AIDS; and
capacity building such as in home-based care. It is however important to determine the
capacities of the CBOs in addressing the needs of communities and orphaned children.
3.3 Needs of orphaned children
A number of studies have identified problems that children orphaned by HIV and AIDS
experience. They may be HIV+ themselves and will likely suffer and die before the age
of 5 years. While relatives can take care of people living with HIV and AIDS, some
studies have shown that children some as young as < 15 years old take care of PLWHA.
They engage in activities that hinder their education 52. During this period of care, a lot of
resources are spent seeking care hoping that they will be cured. When death finally
occurs, nothing, or very little, is left for the children; hence most of the problems that
orphans face are poverty-related. Because of loss of parents, orphaned children lack food,
shelter, clothing, health care, finance, soap and blankets. It has been mentioned that
grandparents have taken over the responsibility of raising a second generation of
generation. In most cases these grandparents are weak hence they, in most cases, fail to
provide for their grandchildren 53. The grabbing of property from orphans and widows
exacerbates the problems that orphans experience. Cook et all report that property
grabbing is common in all communities where this study was done and guardians and
orphaned children felt victimised by this practice54.
The lack of school fees is not the only reason why orphans drop out of school especially
in primary school. Older orphans may drop out of school because there is nobody else in
the home to care for the younger siblings 55. In 1994 the Government of Malawi
introduced free primary education in order to increase primary school enrolment. Total
enrolment in primary school jumped from 1.9 million in 1994 to 2.9 million in 1995 and
3.2 million in 2001 and this was mainly due to the introduction of free primary school
education56. While many pupils start standard one, studies have shown that only 30%
complete primary school57. Despite Government’s free primary education which was
designed to allow disadvantaged members of the community such as orphans access to
education, Munthali and Ali have reported that orphans drop out of school because they
lack amongst other things soap, clothes, exercise books and writing materials. In addition
to lack of these school materials, orphans in secondary school may drop out because of
19
lack of school fees. Even school attendance is very erratic for orphans as they may be
told by their guardians to do other chores instead of going to school. Because of problems
that orphans face in meeting their needs, girls especially, may decide to get married early
for someone to take over caring for them and their siblings. In addition to this, orphans
have to survive hence they may engage in child labour as well as transactional sex as a
way of survival58. Most of the needs that have been mentioned here were also highlighted
in an earlier needs assessment survey conducted by the Ministry of Gender, Youth and
Community Services and other stakeholders namely food, shelter, clothing, blankets and
education.
While the physical needs such as food, shelter, clothing, money etc are easily noticed,
one of the major problems is that the psychosocial aspects are not easily observed. Cook
et al, in addition to identifying the physical needs also identified psychosocial needs of
orphaned children namely love, care when ill, play, counselling and schooling (especially
the friendship created in school). In this study, most adults mentioned material support as
the most needed for orphans but most children placed an equal or higher value on the
love lost when a parent dies. One of the major outcomes from this study has been the link
between a child and guardian’s psychological wellbeing and the psychosocial impact of
increased poverty caused by the death of parents59.
3.4 Some community suggestions on how orphan care can be improved
In their study, Munthali and Ali found out from the members of the community on what
they thought should be done in order to improve or address the problems that orphans
were facing. A number of suggestions were made in these community consultations
including the following:
 Orphans and their households should also have access to other loans to enable
them start small scale business such as baking mandazi and selling them. Better
crop yields can only be obtained if fertiliser and improved seeds such as hybrid
maize are utilised. Once better yields are obtained households can then sell some
of the crop and use the money to help orphans. For this to be achieved there is
need for loans targeting affected communities. In this study some orphans felt that
they should be given the loans themselves and not grandparents because they are
already weak.
 Employment opportunities need to be created so that orphans can be employed as
soon as they finish school.
 Awareness should be created on the contents of the Wills and Inheritance Act and
perpetrators of property grabbing should be heavily punished to deter others from
practising the same.
 Guardians taking care of orphans should give same treatment to both their
children as well as orphans.
 Clothes, food and blankets among other physical needs should be given to
orphans.
 Government should process death gratuity expeditiously and that instead of
relatives getting the money from the District Commissioners on behalf of orphans,
20
orphans themselves should be responsible for drawing the money in order to
avoid misuse.
 Older orphans need to be taught some entrepreneurship or vocational skills so that
they can be in a position to set up small scale businesses and in this way they
would be independent.
One of the suggestions from the informants in this study was that communities should be
sensitised so that they do not depend on outside support but they should be able to pool
resources together and assist the orphans. An earlier study done by Cook et al used the
Triple A approach (assessment, analysis and action) to identify actions that could be
taken to address both the physical and psychosocial needs of orphans which were
identified in this study. Through this study a number of initiatives were implemented in
most cases by the members of the communities where this study was done and these
activities included local skilled artisans providing vocational assistance to vulnerable
teenage orphans; youth groups helping elder guardians of orphans in the cultivation of
vegetable gardens; chiefs donating land for food use for orphans and their guardians; and
elders counselling vulnerable orphans after the death of their parents 60. Very minimal
costs were incurred in these initiatives as almost all the activities were done on a
voluntary basis by the members of the community.
3.5 Identifying the most vulnerable orphans: communities’ perceptions
Cook et al also explored how members of the community who participated in the
“Starting from Strengths” study defined who would be considered the most “vulnerable”
orphan. According to this study, the five most important factors that came out from the
members of the community were children who have experienced multiple loss of people;
orphan headed households; children who have lost their mother; girls; and children who
have experienced many different types of loss for example persons, natural environment;
property etc. This study did not go into details on why these were considered the most
vulnerable groups but at least it identified some differences between patrilineal and
matrilineal communities. While in matrilineal communities the death of the mother was
seen as more serious, in patrilineal societies the death of the father was perceived as
being equally serious to the death of the mother61.
4.0 CHILD TRAFFICKING
4.1 Defining child trafficking
The United Nations defines “trafficking in persons” as ‘the recruitment, transportation,

transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other
forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a
position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve
the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of
exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at the minimum, the exploitation or the
prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services,
21
slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs” 62. In short,
“child trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, harbouring or receipt of persons for
the purpose of exploitation”63. Human trafficking is most often characterized by a false
job offer abroad as well as within the country which is the pretext to move the intended
victim from a familiar environment to one that is unfamiliar for the purpose of exploiting
him or her there64. Without appropriate language skills, a supportive social network, and
laws and customs that he or she understands, the trafficked person feels isolated and
disoriented, and it is this feeling of disorientation that makes her particularly vulnerable
to exploitation. In a foreign country, she has few tools left to resist the demands made of
her, especially when faced with violence or threats of violence.
4.2 Child Trafficking in Malawi
Literature on the trafficking of children in Malawi is scanty but the little that is out there
indicates that the scale of the problem in the country is widespread. A major study done
1
UNICEF. (2003). Child protection: progress analysis and achievements in 2003. New York: UNICEF.
2
International Labour Organisation. (2005). investing child labour: guidelines for rapid assessment.
Geneva: International Labour Organisation
3
Eldring, L; S. Nakanyane and M. Tshoaedi. (2000). Child labour in the tobacco growing sector in Africa.
Oslo: FAFO
4
UNICEF. (2004). Child protection: a handbook for parliamentarians. Switzerland: SRO-Kundig.
5
Munthali, A. and S. Ali. (2000). Adaptive strategies and coping mechanisms: the effect of HIV and AIDS
on the informal social security system in Malawi. Lilongwe: National Economic Council, Government of
Malawi.
6
Munthali, A. (2003). Hunger, child labour and public policy: A case study of Malawi. Zomba: Centre for
Social Research.
7
Kakhongwe, P. (2005). News coverage of gender-based violence: a survey of media reports 1994-2004.
Zomba: Centre for Social Research.
8
Children aged below 14 years of age who are engaged in hazardous work as defined by the ILO. This
includes child prostitution
9
Includes children who come from home and loiter in the streets, children who stay and survive on the
streets as well as children, whether homeless or not, who are begging in the streets
10
Includes incest, defilement, rape, indecent assault, pornography, circumcision, female genital mutilation,
commercial sexual exploitation and prostitution as well as forced marriages
11
Kooijmans, J. (1998). Definitions and legal provisions on child labour in Southern Africa. Harare,
Zimbabwe: ILO/SAMAT.
12
For example in Malawi the Employment Act of 2000 has set the minimum age for employment at 14
years, hence the employment of children under the age of 14 years is an offence in the Laws of Malawi.
13
International Labour Organisation. (2005). Investing child labour: guidelines for rapid assessment.
Geneva: International Labour Organisation
22
by the International Organization for Migration65 which was launched in 2003 indicates
that child trafficking in Malawi involves in-country, cross border and international
movement of children. Apart from this study, there is hardly any that has gone into as
much detail.
4.2.1 Salient features of child trafficking in Malawi
The 2003 Martens et al report on “trafficking in women and children for sexual
exploitation” cited above describes the historical background including the way slave
trade was organized and how the locals especially the Yao collaborated in the trade. Their
14
Bose, S. and Livingstone. (1993). The labour market and wages policy in Malawi.
Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training. (2002). 2000-2002 Annual report-final draft. Lilongwe:
15
Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training.
UNICEF. (2001). The fight against child labour. Presentation made at a child labour workshop held at
16
Malawi Institute of Management, 19th July 2001.

17
See reference No. 6.
18
National Statistical Office and Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training. (2004). Malawi child labour
2002 report. Zomba: NSO
19
Matemba, S. and Dzilankhulani, A. (2002). Child labour baseline needs assessment in Kasungu and
Dowa. Lilongwe: TECS.
20
Tsoka, M. and S. Konyani. (2003). Child labour baseline study. Zomba: Centre for Social Research.
21
Tsoka, M. and J. Milner. (2006). Child domestic labour. Zomba: Centre for Social Research.
22
Government of Malawi. (2002). Malawi’s initial CRC report to the United Nations. Lilongwe:
Government of Malawi.
23
Zimbabwe: ILO/SAMAT.
24
Tsoka, M. and S. Konyani. (2003). Child labour baseline study. Zomba: Centre for Social Research
25
26
27
Malawi Human Rights Commission. (2002). Child labour in Malawi: Nkhota Kota and Dedza Districts
survey. Lilongwe: MHRC. See also James, C. (2002). Child labour research: literature review. (TEEM
Project).
28
Malawi Human Rights Commission. (2002). Child labour in Malawi: Nkhota Kota and Dedza Districts
survey. Lilongwe: MHRC.
29
Government of Malawi. (2005). National Plan of Action for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children
2005-2009. Lilongwe: Government of Malawi.
23
main domain was the inland area East of Lake Malawi in modern Mozambique. The
authors draw a parallel and conclude that ‘Malawi continues to be a source of modern-
day slaves sold for profit’. The report continues to say that ‘today, as during
Livingstone’s time, locals and outsiders collaborate in the trade of Malawian women and
children, who are recruited in the same rural villages along the shores of Lake Malawi as
occurred in centuries earlier.’
4.2.2 The Victims of Trafficking
It is widely acknowledged that victims of trafficking are children especially those coming
from poorest families and those who have had very little education 66. In Malawi, as is the
case with other countries, the vulnerability of women and children to trafficking is due,
30
Zimbabwe: ILO/SAMAT. See also James, C. (2002). Child labour research: literature review. (TEEM
Project).
31
32
Munthali, A. (2003). Child labour, hunger and public policy: a case study of Malawi. Zomba: Centre for
Social Research.
33
Social Research. See also Tsoka, M. and S. Konyani. (2003). Child labour baseline study. Zomba: Centre
for Social Research
34
Social Research.
35
Evans, J.E. (1997). Rapid assessment of the impact of policy changes in rural livelihoods in
36
Malawi. Lilongwe: World Bank

37
38
White, S., D. Kamanga, T. Kachika, A. Chiweza and F. Chidyawonga. (2002). dispossessing the widow:
gender-based violence in Malawi. Blantyre: Christian Literature Association in Malawi.
39
Munthali, A. and S. Ali. (2000). Adaptive strategies and coping mechanisms: the effect of HIV/AIDS on
the informal social security system in Malawi. Lilongwe: National Economic Council
40
MANET+. (2003). Voices for equality and dignity: qualitative research on stigma and discrimination
issues as they affect PLWHA in Malawi. Lilongwe, Malawi: MANET+.
41
Kalipeni, E. (2000). Health and disease in southern Africa: a comparative and vulnerability perspective.
Social Science and Medicine 50(7/8):965-983.
42
UNAIDS Secretariat, National AIDS Secretariat and UN Theme Group on HIV/AIDS. (nd). The
HIV/AIDS epidemic in Malawi: the situation and the response. Lilongwe, Malawi: UNAIDS Secretariat.
43
National AIDS Commission. (2005). 2004 Monitoring and evaluation summary. Lilongwe: National
AIDS Commission.
24
‘at least in part, to the desperation that results from endemic poverty, and also from a
perversion of certain cultural practices that commercialise and sexualise girls’67. The
cultural practices in point are: (a) kuhaka which involves the exchange of young girls for
basic goods and necessities as a means of survival; (b) kutomera (‘betrothed’) which may
result in girls being exchanged for money and other items virtually from the day they are
born. These cultural practices are being perpetuated because of the widespread poverty.
The HIV/AIDS scourge has also worsened the situation for children, especially those
who have lost their parents and out of desperation are forced to become breadwinners.
Many children are thus forced to drop out of school and migrate to towns, border regions,
44
Government of Malawi. (2005). National Plan of Action for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children
2005-2009. Lilongwe: Government of Malawi.
45
National Statistical Office. (2002). 1998 Malawi Population and Housing Census: analytical report.
Zomba: National Statistical Office
46
Government of Malawi. (2005). National plan of action for orphans and other vulnerable children 2005-
2009. Lilongwe: Government of Malawi.
47
the informal social security system in Malawi. Lilongwe: National Economic Council.
Munthali, A. (2002). Adaptive strategies and coping mechanisms of families and communities affected by
48
HIV/AIDS in Malawi. Paper submitted to UNRISD project HIV/AIDS and Development.

49
Cook, P., S. Ali and A. Munthali. (2000). Starting from strengths: community care for orphaned children
in Malawi. British Columbia: University of Victoria and Zomba: Centre for Social Research.
50
the informal social security system in Malawi. Lilongwe: National Economic Council.
51
Mastwijk, S. (2000). Social security system in Malawi-a conclusive report on the conditions for and
constellation and capacity of informal social security systems: implications and recommendations.
Lilongwe: National Economic Council.
52
Sibale, B. and E. Kachale. (2004). Educational perspectives related to the impact of the HIV and AIDS
pandemic on child labour in Malawi. Lilongwe: Centre for Development Management paper for
International Labour Organisation..
53
Malawi.
54
in Malawi. Victoria: University of Victoria.
Munthali, A. (2002). Adaptive strategies and coping mechanisms of families and communities affected by
55
HIV/AIDS in Malawi. Paper submitted to UNRISD project HIV/AIDS and Development.
56
National Statistical Office. (2004). Statistical yearbook. Zomba: National Statistical Office.
57
Kadzamira, E.C.; K. Nthara and F. Kholowa. (2004). Financing primary education for all: Malawi.
Brighton, Sussex: Institute of Development Studies.
25
and holiday resorts to support their families through informal jobs which often include
sex work. Others, the IOM report states are recruited as cheap labour to be exploited in
bars and restaurants in the two main cities, Lilongwe and Blantyre, and towns such as
Kasungu, Mwanza, Mangochi, Salima and Nkhata Bay68.
The report by Martens et al further demonstrates that for girls, in addition, the roles of
cultural practices and early sexualization should not be down played. The report says that
for many trafficking victims ‘the process of early sexualization seems to play a vital role
in normalizing prostitution so that it is not unusual for young women to migrate to
holiday resorts, border regions and cities to earn incomes from sex work’. The report says
that early sexualization deprives young women of schooling and job opportunities
because of pregnancies, confinement to households as cooks and cleaners, the promise of
easy money as sex workers, or similar consequences. Secondly, sexual rites encourage
58
Malawi.
59
60
61
62
United Nations. (2000). Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially
women and children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against transnational organised crime.
New York: United Nations.
63
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution
and Child Pornography, May 2000
64
Martens J., Pieczkowski, M., and Vuuren-Smyth, V.; Seduction, Sale and Slavery: Trafficking in Women
and Children for Sexual Exploitation in Southern Africa (International Organization for Migration), May
2003.
65
2003.
66
See www.unicef.org.uk/ campaigns – “End child exploitation”
67
2003.
68
2003.
26
early marriages such that offers of marriage from traffickers are favourably received both
by young women and their families.
At the national level some attempts have been made to explore the existence of child
trafficking. For example in September 2005 the Malawi Human Rights Commission
conducted a study which was aimed at investigating reports of child labour and child
trafficking in Dedza District. The study revealed that children from Traditional Authority
Kasumbu run away from their parents and were willingly taken out of Malawi into
Zambia because of poverty. Though the numbers investigated were small, the message
was that trafficking does exist in Dedza and it has been in existence for sometime and
there were known persons that were involved in this69.
4.2.3 Who are the perpetrators of child trafficking
According to UNICEF, child trafficking involves many different people. The recruiters
could be men and women and may be people who specialize in identifying likely victims
in their own villages or areas. They could even be friends or relatives. Others though are
said to work in a more formal way as placement agencies. Many other people like train
guards, ships’ captains, taxi and bus drivers and truck drivers could all be part of the
system. Long distance international trafficking though is highly organized. The report by
Martens et al indicates that in Malawi the main perpetrators include Malawian
businesswomen, Nigerian syndicates and Tourists.
4.2.4 The scale of trafficking
This is very difficult to establish or estimate. The Government of Malawi, as is the case
with many other governments in the sub-Saharan region, does not collect specific data on
trafficked women and girls. Even if they did, the only statistics would be for those
returning after being rescued. Otherwise, like in Europe, it is difficult to trace those that
are leaving since this is a covert trade and no one will declare that they are dealing in
people. Marten et al report that ‘anecdotal accounts from returning victims suggest a
possible scale of the trade in Malawian women and girls in Europe. In 1999, five
Malawian victims were repatriated from the Netherlands. Together they had been in
contact with 11 different traffickers, both Nigerian and European throughout the
Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Some of these girls reported having seen lots of
other Malawian girls wherever they had been to. One girl reported seeing more than 20
other girls. On the local scene though the Malawi Child Labour 2002 report reveals that
above 10.2 percent of the children in sex work were actually trafficked 70. If children in
some other forms of forced employment are added to this figure, them the extent of child
trafficking within the country is indeed widespread. Most of the children according to the
69
Malawi Human Rights Commission. (2005). Report on the Investigations into Child Labour and Child
Trafficking in Dedza,. Lilongwe: Malawi Human Rights Commission.
70
Government of Malawi and International Labour Organisation. (2004). Malawi Child Labour 2002
Lilongwe: Government of Malawi.
27
above report are trafficked for domestic work, farm labour (on tea plantations and
tobacco estates) and moulding bricks.
4.2.5 Recruitment
Deceit is the main recruitment approach used by traffickers. Malawian girls and
sometimes boys are offered or promised jobs by female recruiters (or their male partners)
who pretend to be local business persons with interests and contacts in the towns or in
Europe. The job opportunities on offer often include noble ones such as work in factories,
restaurants, hair saloons, shopping malls, hotels, homes or fashion boutiques which many
young women find attractive71. The 2002 Malawi Child Labour Report shows that even
for young girls that are involved in commercial sex work locally, 10.2 percent of them
(sample = 549) found themselves in that job because someone duped them. They found
themselves doing sex work, a job which was not what they had been promised.
Children trafficked by sex tourists are often promised immediate material benefits and if
they are to be taken abroad, they are promised chances to continue with their education or
better jobs. The tourists often will ask the parents or guardians of the children before they
take them away. Martens et al report indicates that ‘families are typically unaware of the
exploitation already suffered by their children at the hands of the tourist-trafficker, or the
exploitation that awaits them abroad, and may not know what questions to ask the tourist
offering financial gifts and opportunities for their children’.
4.2.6 Routes Followed
The movements are reported to be a lot easier when trafficking is done across the
neighbouring countries. This is due to the fact that all borders with all neighbouring
countries are porous. Trafficking to Europe though is hard and Martens et al indicate that
this would usually consist of three to five legs per trip. Malawian girls are transported
both by land and air and transit through at least one African and/or European country
before their destination. Soon after arrival, the girls are sold to Nigerian traffickers in
Belgium, Germany, Italy or the Netherlands. After completing the sale the recruiter is
reported to immediately return to Malawi.
4.2.7Exploitation
It was only after the recruiter has left that the victims realize the trouble they are in. The
first thing they note is that the recruiter in whom they sought comfort was nowhere to be
seen. Then the master tells them as to what is expected of them. Martens et al report
points out that the women are told that they will have to make money for the master by
being involved in prostitution. Debts are then imposed on the trafficked women. Basing
on documented cases, the report states that the average size of the debt is US$40,000.
Only in two cases, the report adds, did the amounts differ; a US$45,000 debt reported by
71
2003.
28
one 19 year old Malawian victim and a highest record debt of US$65,000 imposed on a
19 year old woman in the Netherlands.
Their masters subject the girls to all sorts of intimidation and abuse. The women are
either rented out to clubs or brothels or the women themselves have to phone and find
clubs to ask for work. To raise the amounts of money cited above the women are forced
to do all kinds of sexual ranging from sex acts, oral sex and private strip shows. The club
owners and the masters would share all the money raised and the woman would get
nothing. In cases where the woman was deemed to be making less than was expected,
they would be sold on or somebody would be brought in to help them enhance their
performance. Children trafficked by tourist traffickers on the other hand engage in
heterosexual and homosexual relationships with their traffickers. The Martens et al report
states that paedophile rings target the Malawian children for the purpose of producing
child pornography for international distribution.
4.2.8 Prosecution
The U.S. Department of State reports that the Malawi government made progress in
furthering its anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts in the recent years. It further states
that the “Malawi's constitution prohibits slavery, servitude, and any form of forced or
bonded labor. Its penal code criminalizes abduction; procuring of a person for
prostitution or to work in a brothel; procurement and defilement involving threats, fraud
or drugs; involuntary detention for sexual purposes; and living off the proceeds of
prostitution or operating a brothel. During the year, the government reintroduced an
amendment to strengthen and support these articles. In addition, the Malawi Law
Commission began drafting a specific law to criminalize all types of human trafficking.
In November 2004, the Ministry of Labor shifted its focus from labor inspection to labor
enforcement, and regional inspectors gained the authority to conduct investigations and
press charges. Since that time, two cases of child trafficking for agricultural labor
exploitation were successfully prosecuted to conviction in the central region. In addition,
the Ministry of Labor removed 13 children from situations of forced labor in tea and
tobacco estates and reunified them with their families after requiring employers to
compensate them. The government provided basic counter-trafficking training to all
immigration officers and police”72.
The U.S. Department of State also reports that in the recent past, Malawi has made
appreciable progress in caring for victims of trafficking and provided assistance
commensurate with its limited resources and capacity. It reports that in May 2004, the
Government of Malawi conducted a rapid assessment of the situation of the country's
orphans and determined that they are at risk of exploitation, including sexual exploitation.
The report further states “the Ministry of Gender, Child Welfare, and Community
Services responded by developing and launching a national action plan for orphans and
vulnerable children that included elements of victim protection and trafficking awareness
and prevention. As part of the plan, nearly 200 new child protection officers received
72
U.S. Department of State. (2004). Trafficking in Persons Report, June 2004. Washington: US State
Department.
29
training on the recognition of trafficking victims and were placed in districts across the
country. In addition, 37 Victim's Support Units were established, with the mandate to
provide protective and support services to exploited children, including trafficking
victims. The government's long-term victim protection strategy targets those in
prostitution and those at risk of prostitution, particularly children. By offering options
such as education and vocational training to children in prostitution, the government
contributed to their social reintegration and rehabilitation”.
4.2.9 Prevention
The same U.S. Department of State reports that “in 2004, the government formed an
inter-ministerial anti-trafficking committee that meets regularly and which has begun
developing a national anti-trafficking action plan. Drafting this plan was complicated by
the lack of data on human trafficking. As a result, the Ministry of Gender, in cooperation
with the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Malawi Human Rights Commission, designed
a comprehensive study of the nature of human trafficking in Malawi, for which they are
seeking donor funding. During the year, the government conducted a variety of regionally
focused public awareness campaigns - workshops for teachers and traditional authorities,
meetings for rural families with young children, marches and radio jingles - to increase
understanding of the root causes of trafficking in persons. In September 2004, the
government hosted a three-day IOM regional workshop on human trafficking in Southern
Africa that was attended by several senior government officials. In addition, it approved
the opening of an IOM office in Malawi”.
5.0 JUVENILE JUSTICE
5.1 Defining juvenile justice
There is no single definition of a juvenile and this is because the term is used
interchangeably for children and young persons. Section 2 of the Children and Young
Persons Act includes in the word juvenile both a child and young person. The same
section defines a child as a person under the age of fourteen years and a young person is
defined as a person under the age of eighteen years. It follows thus that a juvenile in the
Malawi context should be a person under the age of eighteen years. This would be in
conformity with the definition adopted by the United Nations Rules for the Protection of
Juveniles deprived of their liberty and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for
the Administration of Juvenile Justice (Beijing Rules)73. The Malawi Human Rights
Resource Centre (MHRRC) quoting Article 40 (1) of the convention on the Rights of the
Child states, ‘the child has to be treated in a manner consistent with the child’s sense of
dignity and worth’. According to section 14 of the Penal Code Cap. 7:01 the age of
criminal responsibility is seven years. According to observations of the Committee on the
Rights of the Child in its Twenty-ninth session 74, this is too low. Jolofani75 made the same
observation.
5.2 Children in conflict with the Law
30
Between April and June 2002, the Malawi Human Rights Commission 76 conducted a
study on the situation of juvenile offenders in the country’s prisons and detention centres.
The study established that there were around 440 juvenile offenders in the various
centres. The study also established that these offenders were kept in appalling conditions
and were treated in a bad manner. A report by Amnesty International 77 noted that
‘juvenile inmates in Zomba Central Prison are crammed into four communal cells in a
separate area of the prison. The cells open out onto a compound 100 yards long by 10
yards wide, enclosed by high brick walls. Overcrowding and lack of basic hygiene
facilities are putting the health of these children at risk.’ Some of the children in these
cells were detained awaiting trial and others were serving prison sentences. Jolofani 78 also
reported that ‘the conditions at Zomba Central Prison were such that juveniles had no
activities at all, so they just sat around all day. There is no privacy, the sleeping places
were overcrowded, forcing inmates to spend their time in the open, even when it is
raining. Sanitation was poor and most of the boys she saw in the juvenile wing at Zomba
had such bad cases of scabies, that she found the situation very distressing.’
5.3 The state of juvenile justice
One of the most comprehensive studies done on the state of juvenile justice in Malawi is
one by Jolofani79. The report has eight main sections namely: mode of arrest; actual
arrest; detention pending trial; initial court appearance; sentencing; imprisonment and
institutionalisation; and other considerations. Within each section the following issues are
considered: What the procedure and practice should be according to the National Laws of
Malawi; what the actual practice is; if discrepancies arise, why so and what problems the
institutions and staff face; recommendations in light of the international standards, norms
and ideals; and what problems could be anticipated. The study was done in Zomba and
Blantyre at Chilwa Approved School and Mpemba Boys’ homes, respectively. A visit
was also made to the juvenile wing of the Zomba Central Prison. The methods used to
gather the information included formal open-ended interviews, and semi-structured
interviews as well as informal interviews both on and off the record. Interviews were
conducted with the juveniles, the police, the court clerks, parents, prisoners and some
social welfare officers.
5.3.1 Mode of arrest and detention
The report noted long detentions after a juvenile was arrested contrary to section 42 (2)
(b) of the constitution. The long detentions were due to either misplacement of files or
76
Malawi Human Rights Commission (2002). Annual Report 2002. Lilongwe: Malawi Human Rights
Commission.
77
The Lamp, January – February Issue; 1999.
78
Jolofani, D.A. (1991). The State of Juvenile Justice in Malawi. Report Prepared for UNICEF-Malawi
79
31
unavailability of magistrates or the police just wanted to teach the juvenile a lesson for
not cooperating during the arrest.
The report bemoans the beating of the juveniles, contrary to section 19 (4) of the
constitution, during the time of the arrest. This act diminishes the dignity of the offending
juvenile who should in essence be presumed innocent until proved otherwise. Further,
juveniles are rarely charged in the presence of their parents and guardians. This was
attributed to distances from where the parents or guardians were to where the offences
sometimes took place; juveniles giving false addresses so that they are not taken home;
and parents’ fear of being punished on behalf of the children. Other than cases of
homicide, juvenile offenders are supposed to be released on bail. The author of the report
did not come across any offender who had been given bail. Worse still, there seemed to
be less dialogue between the police and Social Welfare Officers who were supposed to be
involved with issues of juvenile offenders.
Ideally, juvenile offenders are supposed to be detained in places such as the approved
schools or juvenile wings of prisons. The problem is that there are only two approved
schools in Malawi (one in Zomba and one in Blantyre) and there are only three prisons
with juvenile wings in the whole country (Chichiri in Blantyre, Maula in Lilongwe and
Zomba in Zomba). In other prisons therefore, children are bound to be mixed with adults.
Worse still, juveniles, during their detention do not receive the psychosocial care that
they need. Staff, the report concludes, do not feel the need to provide such kind of
support because the juveniles are seen as just passing through. Hence, no need to waste
time and resources on.
5.3.2 Initial Court Appearance and sentencing
Contrary to the stipulation in the Children and Young Persons Act section 5, most of the
juveniles that talked to the author of the report indicated that they attended the initial
court hearing without their parents or guardians. Juveniles according to the law are
supposed to have legal representation and free legal aid. None of the juveniles
interviewed by the author of the report in the three places had legal representation or was
once represented. Ideally juveniles are supposed to be tried in juvenile courts in closed
sessions where the juvenile remains anonymous. This is not always adhered to and
sometimes juveniles have been identified and reported in newspapers.
The constitution of the Republic of Malawi forbids sentencing a child to life

imprisonment. The Young Persons Act also forbids the use of the words ‘conviction’ and
‘sentence’ in matters relating to juveniles. This is done so as to preserve the dignity and
worth of the juvenile and giving them the assurance that they could still be useful in life.
Hence, children are supposed to be sent to places where they can be rehabilitated.
According to the report the law requires that the word ‘committed to’ must be used in
dealing with juveniles instead or the ‘sentencing’. There were cases though where
sentencing was still the order of the day.
32
5.3.3 Other Considerations
The report ends by looking at issues of determination of age in establishing juvenile

status; the absence of a girls home in the country; the role of parents and guardians,
diversion; community involvement and commitment; traditional deference; and the
principles of the traditional courts.
5.4 Conclusion
Both the MHRC and Jolofani report give some insights into the situation of children that
are in conflict with the law. In the first place, it is a fact that there are many young
offenders in the country. Most of them are kept at the two approved schools in Zomba
and Blantyre or in the juvenile wings of the three central prisons of Zomba, Maula and
Chichiri. The reports indicate that there are provisions to protect the young offenders and
guide those dealing with the juveniles. Unfortunately, for the most part the provisions are
not adhered to. Measures are being taken though following the meeting that took place
from 23rd – 25th November 1999 in Lilongwe. At that meeting the recommendations
emphasised ‘the least possible use of police and prison custody for children’ 80. The
recommendations also encouraged community-based measures such as prevention,
diversion, non-custodial sentencing and restorative justice.
The National Action Plan for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Malawi
summaries problems faced by children in conflict with the law as follows:
 Lack of adherence to the provisions in the Children and Young Persons’ Act
 On arrest, children are often abused and insulted and handcuffed
 During confinement, juveniles are often mixed with adults
 Juveniles are often kept in prisons despite being committed to reformatory
institutions
 Conditions in prisons and reformatory institutions are appalling
 Juveniles are in most cases are not afforded contact with Social Welfare Officers
or Probation Officers
 Trials for juveniles are in most cases delayed and
 Some provisions in the Children and Young Persons Act are permissive of
treating Children as adult offenders in some circumstances.
6.0 CHILD REFUGEES
There are hardly any studies regarding child refugees in Malawi despite the fact that
Malawi has been and still is host to a number of refugees. Chirwa et.al in an assessment
of food security and self-reliance in Dzaleka Refugee Camp established though that more
than half the population from the sampled households of refugees from the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Somalia were under the age of 15 years 81
(see Table 4.1 below). This is a significant proportion of the population that could have
special needs. This is thus one of the areas that need further studying.
80
New Hope, (6) – April 2000, Newsletter about prison reform.
33
Table 1 Population, Sex Distribution and Size of Household by Country of Origin
DRC Rwanda Burundi Somalia

Population in Sample Families 529 1301 464 43
Age Group *
0-5 21.0 20.2 22.4 4.7
6 - 14 27.0 35.0 28.2 23.3
15 - 64 51.6 44.4 49.4 67.4
65 above 0.4 0.3 - 4.7
Sex of Member
Male 55.0 50.4 52.6 54.3
Female 45.0 49.6 47.4 45.7
Sex of Family Head

Male 79.2 62.4 79.6 44.4
Female 20.8 37.6 20.4 55.6
Mean Family Size 5.47 6.72 5.71 5.78

Adapted from Chirwa et.al, 2004
7.0 STREET CHILDREN
Street children are mostly found in the four major cities in Malawi namely Blantyre,
Zomba, Lilongwe and Mzuzu although street children are also found in townships and
residential areas. A number of studies have been done in Malawi looking at different
aspects of street children including prevalence or numbers.
7.1 Number of children on the streets in Malawi
Studies have generally not been done at national level to determine the number of
children living on the streets in Malawi. However some studies have been done looking
at the number of street children in Malawian cities as this problem is most prevalent in
these urban areas. A study on street children done in 1991 in the commercial centre of
Lilongwe showed that there were a total of 400 children living on the streets in the city 82.
73
Malawi Human Rights Resource Centre (2003). Source Book on Child Rights. Lilongwe: Malawi Human
Rights Resource Centre.
74
Human Rights Library, University of Minnesota, www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/malawi2002.html.
75
Chirwa, E.W., Kanyongolo, N.R, and Mvula. P.M; An assessment of food security and self-reliance in
81
Dzaleka refugee camp, August 2004.
34
In 1999 UNICEF commissioned a study to determine, among other things, the number of
children living on the streets in Malawi. This study revealed that there were over 2,000
street children aged less than 14 years in the commercial centres of the cities of Blantyre,
Lilongwe and Mzuzu83. Even at the time the figure was an underestimation as it could
have been higher if the study was also done in town ships and residential areas. Both
these studies were conducted over half a decade ago and they were not as comprehensive.
As of now the magnitude of street children in Malawi is more likely to be bigger than the
picture portrayed by the available statistics.
7.2 Why children go onto the street and what they do
There are a number of reasons why children go onto the streets. A study done in 1987
identified a number of factors that force children to street life and these included poverty,
disability, lack of parental control and family conflicts and witchcraft. The study however
did not raise the risk that street children face in terms of sexual abuse and possibility of
contracting STIs including HIV and AIDS84. These issues were possibly not raised in the
report because it was during the early years of the HIV and AIDS epidemic. A more
recent study has identified orphanhood which has been exacerbated largely by the HIV
and AIDS epidemic as one of the push factors for street life. Other factors include broken
or unstable homes, juvenile delinquency, domestic violence, parental abuse and rural-
urban migration which has resulted in an increase in the number of urban poor who are
unable to provide adequate support to their children 85 A 1999 study by UNICEF
acknowledged the existence of the problem of street children in the main cities of
Lilongwe, Blantyre and Mzuzu who experience a vast range of health problems
including malaria, scabies and abdominal pains among other problems. The report further
identified child abuse as one of the major problems that children on the streets
experience.86 One recent study found that adolescent girls aged 13-18 are found on the
streets of Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu in search of men who would exchange sex for
money while others are employed as bargirls without pay since it is expected that they
will get money from clients. 87 While there are initiatives being undertaken by some
NGOs such as Chisomo Children’s Home and others to address the problem of street
children, there is a need to conduct a situational analysis of street children in Malawi in
order to better understand the plight of these street children.
82
Observation on the initial Malawi CRC report by the UN
Osman, M. and D. Ali. (1999). The situation analysis of street children in the cities of Malawi. Lilongwe:
83
UNICEF.
Horea, P.M, Street wandering children in Blantyre City, Dissertation submitted to the University of
84
Malawi in partial fulfillment of the Diploma in Business Studies, Blantyre: The Polytechnic, 1987.
85
Observation on the initial Malawi CRC report by the UN.
86
Ministry of Gender, Child Welfare and Community Services and UNICEF, Stop harming and exploiting
children in Malawi, Lilongwe, UNICEF, 2003.
Kaponda C, A situational analysis of child abuse in Malawi, Lilongwe, Malawi: Malawi Human Rights
87
Commission, 2000.
35
Street children can be classified into three groups. The first group consists of those
children who stay with their parents in their respective communities and go to the street
during day time. The second group consists of those children who spend much of their
time on the street and have infrequent contacts with their families. The third group
comprises children who have completely lost contact with their families and stay on the
streets fulltime. The children are found on the street mainly for either their own survival
or to earn a living to support their families. To do this, the street children engage in a
wide range of activities including begging and vending. The 1991 and 1999 studies found
that the street children also engage in pick pocketing especially males while female street
children engage in ‘small time’ prostitution. There are more male than female street
children.
7.3 Problems faced by street children
The street children face formidable challenges that affect their present and future lives.
By being on the street, the children do not enjoy their right to education as nearly all of
them do not have time to attend school. They risk their lives by engaging in activities
such as pick pocketing. Female street children are vulnerable to sexual abuse and
exploitation and are consequently exposed to the risk of contracting sexually transmitted
infections including HIV and AIDS. The children lack parental guidance as they are often
alone in the streets with no supervision and protection. Street children live in unhygienic
environment, and the foods they eat, are also unhygienic. These factors put the street
children on high risk of contracting various diseases. Other challenges include lack of
shelter, clothing, access to healthcare services, drug abuse, and vocational and life-skills
training88
7.4 Attempts to address problems experienced by street children
Currently, the Malawi government does not have legislation and policy for street
children. However, most of the issues that affect street children are addressed at
programme level largely by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Some NGOs that
deal with street children include The Samaritan Trust in Blantyre, Ana a Malawi, the
Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) project in Blantyre, the Bangwe
Drop-In Centre in Blantyre, the Blantyre Drop-In-Centre in Blantyre, the Stella Maris
Camp in Blantyre, Chisomo Children’s Club in Blantyre, Yamikani House in Blantyre,
the Catholic Diocese of Lilongwe in Lilongwe and the Task Force for the Homeless in
Mzuzu. The NGOs provide a range of preventive, recovery and re-integrative services
targeting street children. The services provided include awareness-raising sensitization
campaigns on the rights of street children, identification of street children, provision of
shelter as an alternative home, provision of health care, food, vocational and skills
training (carpentry and joinery, tinsmith, welding, etc), formal education, informal
education eg numeracy or literacy lessons for those who have never been to school,
psycho-socio counselling, farming, relationship building, life skills, reintegration with
88
Observation on the initial Malawi CRC report by the UN.
36
parents, start-up capital, follow-up visits, loans to families of reintegrated street children,
and sports and recreation activities89.
7.5 Concluding remarks
There is need to assess the capacities of the NGOs in responding to street children with
regard to human, financial and material resources to provide adequate assistance to street
children. An assessment is required of the NGOs needs and challenges in scaling up their
activities considering that the number of street children is on the increase.
8.0 CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
8.1 Prevalence of disability
A number of studies have been done in Malawi on people with disabilities with most of
them attempting to determine the prevalence of disability. The first survey was done in
1983 by the National Statistical Office. This survey found that 2.9% of the Malawian
population had disabilities and that approximately 11% of the households had at least one
person with a disability. The survey also revealed that the percentage of persons with
disabilities aged 0-4 years and 5-14 years were 1.3% and 2.3% respectively and that
prevalence of disability was higher in the rural areas compared to urban areas 90. Statistics
gathered by Malawi Council for the Handicapped’s (MACOHA) community-based
programme, indicate that there are 2,124 children with disability aged 15 years and below
residing in Blantyre, Machinga, Nsanje, Salima, Mzimba, Karonga and Lilongwe.
However, there is lack of adequate and disaggregated statistical data by gender, age,
rural/urban, social level and region. It has generally been argued that these prevalence
rates are generally on the lower side as the United Nations estimates that 10% of the
population consists of people with disabilities91. A comprehensive study on living
conditions of people with disabilities conducted by the Federation of Disability
Organisations in Malawi, Centre for Social Research and SINTEF Health Research also
found a nationwide prevalence rate of 4.18% with 51% being males and 48% females.
Even though this is low by international standards, it is 30% higher than the rate last
reported in Malawi92. This study was different from earlier studies because it used the
WHO International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to define
disability. Data on people with disabilities is rarely collected in Malawi and it would be
For example see: Chisomo Children’s Club. (2005). Narrative report for January to June 2005. Blantyre:
89
Chisomo Children’s Club; Chisomo Children’s Club. (2004). Annual report 2004. Blantyre: Chisomo
Children’s Club.
90
National Statistical Office. (1987). Survey of handicapped persons in Malawi 1983. Zomba: Government
Printer.
91
See Brouder, A.M. (1998). Needs study for rehabilitation training in Malawi. Zomba: Centre for Social
Research.
92
Federation of Disability Organisations in Malawi, University of Malawi and Sintef Health Research.
(2004). Living conditions among people with activity limitations in Malawi: a national representative
study. Oslo, Norway: SINTEF Health Research.
37
advisable that national data collection initiatives, especially the national housing and
population census, should include questions on disability.
There are a number of developments in the disability sector over the last few years. A
Ministry responsible for people with disabilities has since been created to coordinate and
deal with issues affecting people with disabilities in Malawi. At the national level the
constitution of the Republic of Malawi promotes the provision of facilitation and
assistance to people with disabilities so that they have greater access to public services
and places, fair opportunities in employment and the fullest possible participation in all
spheres of Malawian society (Section 13 (g)). With regard to children, the constitution
states that, children and the disabled in particular, shall be given special consideration on
the application of this right. More recently Malawi has adopted the national policy on
Equalisation of Opportunities for persons with Disabilities which aims at integrating
fully persons with disabilities in all aspects of life and ensure that they have essentials in
life.
At the international level, Malawi is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the
Child which is an international legal instrument that specifically guides countries in the
areas of child rights. Article 23 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) states
that a disabled person has the right to special care, education and training to help him or
her enjoy a full and decent life in dignity and achieve the greatest degree of self-reliance
and social integration possible. The CRC in general emphasizes on survival, protection,
development and participation of children in matters affecting them. It is evident
therefore that policies exist that promote inclusion and not exclusion of people with
disabilities in Malawi.
8.2 The plight of children with disabilities
Despite the existence of a good policy environment, children with disabilities do not fully
enjoy their rights. There aren’t many comprehensive studies that have been done on
children with disabilities. A study done by the Centre for Social Research in 2002
identified a number of problems and barriers that children with disabilities and their
parents experience as far as transport and mobility issues are concerned. These problems
include the need for parents to carry the child if child is unable to walk; the general lack
of finances to employ a person to care for the child or purchase mobility aids for the
child; and the general physical discomfort when moving (for example the skin of albinos
are sensitive to heat and sunlight which can cause a lot of discomfort).In addition to this
in some case the general public tend to verbally and physically abuse parents of children
with disabilities93. In addition to these transport and mobility related problems, the report
further identifies other day to day problems that people with disabilities experience and
these included segregation and discrimination, high levels of poverty, communication and
access to and use of social services such as health and education94.
93
Gallagher, B., C. Khaula and N. Nakatiwa. (2002). Transport and mobility issues and concerns for
people with disabilities living in urban areas: Malawi country report. Zomba: Centre for Social Research.
94
Gallagher, B., C. Khaula and N. Nakatiwa. (2002). Transport and mobility issues and concerns for
people with disabilities living in urban areas: Malawi country report. Zomba: Centre for Social Research.
38
The 2003 Living conditions study has also generally shown that people with disabilities
have restricted access to education especially for those with sensory and mental
impairments. According to Gallagher, the limited access to education by people with
disabilities is due to limited special education services, problems related to transport and
mobility, limited opportunity to enter educational establishments among other reasons. In
addition to restricted access to education, even the level of unemployment among persons
with disabilities is higher than among those without disability. Individuals with
mental/emotional impairments experience activity limitations in social participation to a
greater degree than do others with other types of impairments95.
Children with disabilities have difficulties to realize their right to education because of
negative attitude of parents and community members, long distances to school, less
disability friendly school infrastructure, lack of adequate teachers who can teach children
with disabilities, lack of attention and discrimination by teachers and fellow students. In
some cultures, a child born with disabilities is regarded as a curse. Other problems
include low coverage of other specialised assistance, general unwillingness by
community members to integrate children with various disabilities in their various
activities. Most of these are rooted from the cultural belief that children born with
disabilities are a curse.
A 2000 study by Kaponda showed that children with disability often lack basic health
care and are at great risk of experiencing physical, psychological abuse and sexual
exploitation. Data gathered during the same year from Lilongwe Central Hospital indicate
that children with disabilities (especially girls) are the ones most affected by sexually
transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, early pregnancies and damage to the reproductive
system. There is need to understand socio-economic and cultural factors that predispose
children with disabilities to the above risks.
8.3 Attempts to address problems faced by children with disabilities
Government agencies as well as NGOs are implementing programmes and projects aimed
at ensuring that children with disabilities fulfil their rights as provided in the Malawi
constitution and CRC and other instruments. Government institutions that deal with
issues of children with disabilities are Ministries of People with Disabilities and Ministry
of Gender, Youth & Community Services through the Social Welfare Services.
Government also works through the Malawi Council for the Handicapped (MACOHA),
which was established under the Handicapped Persons’ Act of 1971 with the objective of
improving the welfare of people with disabilities. Key NGOs dealing with issues related
to people with disability include Feed the Children (Malawi), Parents of Disabled
Children Association of Malawi (PODCAM), Federation of Disability Organizations in
Malawi (FEDOMA), Malawi Council for the Handcapped (MACOHA) and some
Mission schools and Colleges. Services offered include rehabilitation so that children
95
Federation of Disability Organisations in Malawi, University of Malawi and Sintef Health Research.
(2004). Living conditions among people with activity limitations in Malawi: a national representative
study. Oslo, Norway: SINTEF Health Research.
39
with disability become as functional as possible, vocational skills training for economic
independence, provision of loans to families with children with disabilities, awareness
raising campaigns on the rights of children with disabilities and assistance with school
fees.
9.0 SEXUAL ABUSE AND VIOLENCE
The Constitution of Malawi has provisions that protect children from treatment that are
detrimental to their survival, growth and development. For example, Section 23 (4) of the
Constitution stipulates that children are entitled to be protected from any treatment that is
likely to be harmful to their physical, mental or spiritual, or social development. Section
138 of the Penal Code states that “any person who unlawfully or carnally knows any girl
under the age of 13 years shall be guilty of a felony and shall be liable to imprison for
life, with or without corporal punishment” and “ any person who attempts to have
unlawful carnal knowledge of any girl under the age of 13 years shall be guilty of a
felony and shall be liable to imprison of 14 years, with or without corporal punishment.
Despite the existence of the laws that protect children, children in Malawi are subjected
to sexual abuse and violence. Sexual abuse and violence is the actual or threatened
physical intrusion of a sexual nature - including inappropriate touching - by force or
under unequal or coercive conditions”. Cases of sexual abuse and violence have been
reported mainly through the media and appear to be on the increase. Some studies done in
selected parts of the country have documented cases of sexual abuse and violence, and
commercial sexual exploitation. However, there has been no national survey conducted to
determine the extent of the problem nationwide.
The most common forms of sexual abuse and violence are rape and defilement. Sexual
abuse and violence take place within communities and in institutions such as schools and
prison where children are imprisoned with adults. Children are sexually abused by
members of their family or extended family, by family friends, neighbours and
caregivers. A total of 151 cases of child defilement were reported by the media during the
period between 1994 and 2004 (Kakhongwe, 2005). Some of the cases involved children
as young as 2-months old. One of the causes of rape and defilement is a misplaced belief
that an HIV infected adult gets cured from the virus once he has sex with a girl child.
Cases of sexual abuse and violence against girls allegedly by male teachers and
classmates have been reported. Male teachers take advantage of their positions to
threaten, force or entice girls in sexual relationships. Classmates use gender
discrimination and peer pressure as a way to get sex in exchange for help in difficult
subjects. A 2003 study by Chanika in Chiradzulu district showed sexual relationships
with teachers often results into pregnancies and leads to girls’ school dropout. A 2002
study by SCR found that rape and sexual harassment as one of the reasons for girls’ low
academic performance, erratic attendance and high drop-out rate. Another form of sexual
abuse which is becoming common in Malawi is incest especially involving a biological
father and daughter. Cases of incest have often been associated with superstition.
40
Government and human rights organizations have taken measures to reduce and/ or
eliminate cases of child sexual abuse. Awareness-raising sensitization campaigns through
various avenues have been conducted on the evils of sexual abuse. Perpetrators of sexual
abuse, once found, have been tried by the courts and imprisoned as punishment for the
offence.
10. CONCLUSIONS
This study was aimed at determining the magnitude of the problem of child abuse,
violence and exploitation in Malawi. These findings are supposed to inform the design
and emphasis of the proposed baseline study on child protection. The following
conclusions can therefore be made:
 A national child labour survey was conducted in 2002 and a report produced in
2004 which among other things looked at prevalence of child labour and the type
of work that children are involved in. A number of small studies have also been
done to determine prevalence of child labour, legislative frameworks on child
labour, why children work, the effects of child labour on children, how social
shocks can affect prevalence of child labour, how agricultural policies for
example liberalisation of tobacco impacted on child labour and what needs to be
done in order to eliminate child labour. It has been concluded that poverty is the
major reason why children work. Recently the ILO has done studies on domestic
child labour and prevalence of child labour in urban areas. It is therefore
suggested that as far as child labour is concerned some comprehensive studies
have been done but what is required is to properly document the different
programmes that have been implemented in Malawi in order to eliminate child
labour and the effectiveness of such programmes.
 With regard to orphans, there are a number of studies that have been done in
Malawi that have generally looked at caring arrangements for orphans, the
problems experienced by orphans, what mechanisms needs to be put in place in
order to address the needs of orphans including suggestions from the community
on how this can best be done. The National Statistical Office, in the 1998 National
Housing and Population Census, captured the number of orphans in Malawi.
However, a situational analysis of orphans using the approach suggested by John
Williamson is urgently required. There is also a need to document the different
approaches that are being used by different NGOs and CBOs in order to alleviate
the problems that orphans are facing and then document the best practices on
orphan care as defined by UNAIDS.
 From the little evidence that is there, it is apparent that trafficking in children and
women in Malawi is a reality and poverty seems to be the main cause. This is
compounded by the spread of the HIV and AIDS epidemic that has brought about
child headed households that are forced to be breadwinners. Quantification of the
volume or the extent of the problem is not easy because this is a clandestine
activity. Trafficking patterns though show flows from Malawi to other wealthier
41
countries in Southern Africa, from Malawi to Europe and internal trafficking
centred on tourist and holiday resorts. A form of trafficking that is often ignored
is that of children being forced to work as sex workers and those being forced to
work on the tobacco estates and the tea plantation. This is one of the areas that
needs detailed investigation.
 One of the most comprehensive studies on juvenile justice that the team came
across was done in 1991. Since then a lot of changes have taken place. It is
therefore important that another study be done to explore the situation of juvenile
justice in the current political and economic context.
 While Malawi has some refugees, no studies have been done to explore the extent
of child abuse, violence and exploitation in the refugee camps.
 Even though not many comprehensive studies have been done on street children,
the few studies that have been done give some light on reasons why children go
on the streets, the problems that they face and the attempts by different
stakeholders to address the problems faced by street children. To date the number
of children on the streets is not known and the capacities of NGOs responding to
street children is largely unknown. It is therefore suggested that the proposed
study on child protection should also look at number of street children (although it
might prove difficult), what is being done to address the problem of street
children, who is doing this and the capacities that these organisations have.
 The Centre for Social Research, the Federation of Disability Organisations in

Malawi and Sintef Health (Norway) conducted a nationwide survey on living
conditions of people with disabilities in Malawi in 2003. From this study, it is
possible to determine the percentage of children who have disabilities. Cases of
child abuse, violence and exploitation against people with disabilities have been
reported in Malawi but the magnitude of such cases remain largely unknown;
hence the need to include this in the proposed study.
42
11. REFERENCES
43

Child Protection A Literature Review 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Child Protection A Literature Review 1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Child Protection A Literature Review 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

CHILD PROTECTION IN MALAWI: A REVIEW OF

Alister Munthali, Peter Mvula and George Mandere

Alister Munthali, Peter Mvula and George Mandere

AIDS Acquired Immuno-deficiency Syndrome

1.1 Understanding child protection

1.2 Background to this paper

However, before the implementation the Child Protection Programme, a comprehensive

2.0 CHILD LABOUR

2.1 Definition and prevalence of child labour

Child labour is recognised as a growing global problem and it is defined as work

2.2 Policy and legislative frameworks on child labour

2.3 Why children work

2.5 Social shocks on child labour

2.6 Liberalisation of tobacco and child labour

2.7 Preferences for children

2.8 Communities’ views about eliminating child labour

In order to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV, Malawi is implementing

3.1 Prevalence of orphanhood in Malawi

3.2 Care for orphaned children

The Government of Malawi recommends that as much as possible orphaned children

3.3 Needs of orphaned children

3.4 Some community suggestions on how orphan care can be improved

3.5 Identifying the most vulnerable orphans: communities’ perceptions

4.0 CHILD TRAFFICKING

4.1 Defining child trafficking

The United Nations defines “trafficking in persons” as ‘the recruitment, transportation,

4.2 Child Trafficking in Malawi

4.2.1 Salient features of child trafficking in Malawi

Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training.

Malawi Institute of Management, 19th July 2001.

4.2.2 The Victims of Trafficking

Malawi. Lilongwe: World Bank

HIV/AIDS in Malawi. Paper submitted to UNRISD project HIV/AIDS and Development.

HIV/AIDS in Malawi. Paper submitted to UNRISD project HIV/AIDS and Development.

4.2.3 Who are the perpetrators of child trafficking

4.2.4 The scale of trafficking

4.2.6 Routes Followed

5.0 JUVENILE JUSTICE

5.1 Defining juvenile justice

5.2 Children in conflict with the Law

5.3 The state of juvenile justice

5.3.1 Mode of arrest and detention

5.3.2 Initial Court Appearance and sentencing

The constitution of the Republic of Malawi forbids sentencing a child to life

The report ends by looking at issues of determination of age in establishing juvenile

6.0 CHILD REFUGEES

DRC Rwanda Burundi Somalia

Sex of Family Head

Mean Family Size 5.47 6.72 5.71 5.78

7.0 STREET CHILDREN

7.1 Number of children on the streets in Malawi

Dzaleka refugee camp, August 2004.

7.2 Why children go onto the street and what they do

7.3 Problems faced by street children

7.4 Attempts to address problems experienced by street children

7.5 Concluding remarks

8.0 CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

8.1 Prevalence of disability

8.2 The plight of children with disabilities