Malawi Stepping up Action on Human Trafficking
15 Oct 2008
With support from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Plan Malawi, the Malawian government is campaigning to register the births of children under 18 years old, an initiative partly aimed at curbing child labour and trafficking. Nine of the country's 28 districts are now implementing the exercise.
According to a research report conducted by Centre for Social Research (CSR) in Blantyre, Salima, Lilongwe and Mangochi, there are between 500 and 1,500 women and children trafficked within Malawi annually, at least 30% are aged between 14 and 18. The survey found that traffickers often recruited victims from densely populated areas and trafficked from rural to urban areas.
Habiba Osman, Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) Programme Coordinator on Human Trafficking, says based on the research findings, the organisation hopes non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders will find ways and means in coming up with effective interventions to address the problem.
"We are also hoping that the girl child, in particular, will eventually be protected since, as you can see, it is the girls as opposed to boys who are mostly victims of trafficking," she adds.
Traffickers lure victims with false promises of good jobs and better lives and then force them to work under brutal and inhuman conditions, or into sex work. Women are particularly vulnerable, due largely to persistent inequalities in status and opportunities.
Despite the prevalence of the problem, in-depth news analyses on the causes, manifestations and impact of women and child trafficking are rare. The silence on the topic is largely due to mainly two factors - among others - that are also "stumbling blocks" in the fight against women and child trafficking.
Firstly, media relies too much on information generated by organisations, rather than investigative reporting. Even where there is breaking news of arrests or convictions of perpetrators, media reports rely on what is already in the public domain anyway - at the magistrate courts, for example.
The second problem, which also makes journalists' jobs more difficult, is the lack of comprehensive and reliable data on the extent and practise of trafficking. In this context, how do we expect government authorities and other relevant players to take decisive and strategic actions in the absence of trustworthy data?
Realising that issues of child trafficking and their implications receive very little press coverage, in June the Malawi Network against Child Trafficking (M-NACT) organised a two-day training workshop for print and electronic media journalists in Blantyre to Malawi to improve the journalists' skills and knowledge and enhance their understanding of the issue.
Recognising the need for more comprehensive information, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD), also commissioned a survey entitled, "Extent and Magnitude of Child Trafficking in Malawi," expected to be officially unveiled soon.
"The purpose of the survey was to establish benchmarks for evaluating the efforts that are underway in the field of women and child trafficking. We have had some related baseline surveys before, but not a holistic one on child trafficking," says an official from the MoWCD.
He says due to the absence of its own data, the country did not even have a basis to comment or challenge, for example, the ranking of countries as regards child trafficking done annually by the US State Department of State Trafficking in Persons, which has ranked Malawi on Tier 2 this year.
According to the report released on June 8, the failure to adequately punish convicted traffickers in 2007 resulted in Malawi to be relegated from Tier 1 in 2007 to Tier 2 this year. It says the country does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, although the report acknowledges it is making significant efforts to do so.
Initial data from the survey commissioned by MoWCD found children as young as ten years working as labourers mostly in tobacco estates in Mzimba, Rumphi, Mangochi, Kasungu and Mchinji, and victims of trafficking from Mulanje, Thyolo, Lilongwe, Dedza, Salima and Ntcheu. Boys were preferred for agricultural work, while girls trafficked for prostitution and domestic work.
The survey also found that internal trafficking is more prevalent within the country, and externally, children were trafficked to countries such as Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique.
David Mkwambisi, a lecturer at Bunda College of Agriculture and Development Project Coordinator for RIPPLE Africa, led the research team. He also bemoans the absence of empirical data on women and child trafficking, clear policies and legislative enforcement on the same.
"The sad thing is that there is no proper recording of children trafficked for child labour due to several factors, including a deficiency in technical and financial capacity. The other weakness at national scale is that there is no clear policy on child labour or child trafficking and those promoting this modern slavery have not been punished enough," he says.
The Malawi Law Society has joined the fray to do its part in reviewing and tightening up laws for effective implementation. Malawi Law Commission Assistant Chief Law Officer, Chizaso Nyirongo, says the commission is in the process of reviewing a number of laws, including those related to trafficking in persons.
"We have already reviewed all the existing laws on child rights including the Penal Code. We are now reviewing laws on trafficking in persons, and we hope to finish by December this year. Then we will present the recommendations to both Government and Parliament," Nyirongo says.
While admitting Mkwmbisi's concern on the absence of a clear policy, another MoWCD official says the line ministry is finalising a policy, dubbed the Child Protection Policy. Child Development Officer, Laurent Kansinjiro, says the policy will holistically encompass all child protection related matters including child trafficking.
The policy would also complement the long-awaited Child Care, Protection and Justice Bill. Two years ago, the cabinet approved the Bill, which defines child trafficking and sets a penalty of life imprisonment for convicted traffickers, though the Bill is yet to be tabled in Parliament.
It is encouraging to see more intervention actions, particularly in research and awareness raising. Yet there is still need to demonstrate political will, including speeding up the process of enacting the Child Care, Protection and Justice Bill. The review of the laws at MLC and the conclusion of the Child Protection Policy at the line ministry will add more impetus to the campaign against women and child trafficking in Malawi.
George Mwika Kayange is the Executive Director of the Child Rights Information & Documentation Centre (CRIDOC).
