Government told to help vulnerable children

SOS Children’s Village Malawi has urged Malawi government to guarantee a zero-tolerance approach towards child rights violations by investing more to ensure that children in Malawi have access to protection, justice, equal opportunity and quality care in their families and communities.

In a press statement, SOS has noted that many children in the country are at risk of experiencing various human rights abuses of different types.

“The Violence Against Children (VAC) and young women in Malawi Survey 2013 shows a sobering picture of children in Malawi, suggesting that violence has become a social norm in Malawian communities,” reads part of the statement.

According to the statement, the report reveals that 2 out 3 Malawians experience violence in childhood, 1 in 5 girls were sexually abused before the age of 18, 1 in 7 boys were sexually abused before the age of 18 and 40 percent of girls and 64 percent of boys suffered physical abuse during their childhood.

Data from Violence Against Children Survey (VACS), shows that at a family level, nearly 1 in 3 children are physically abused by an adult family member while at school peers are frequent perpetrators of physical violence.

SOS Children’s Villages Malawi has asked Malawi government to put measures aimed at seeing children in the country are free from any type of human rights abuse.

“We call on government to put the inherent rights of children high on their political agenda and take commitment to provide resources required to support children with quality care, protection from all forms of violence and the protection needed for their safety and security as provided in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

“The long term impact of these measures can help address the rising issues of radicalization, migration and unemployment on the continent and thus, help countries to better provide quality care to their children,” reads the statement.

SOS Children’s Villages Malawi is an independent non-governmental organisation which started its operations in Malawi on 1st March 1991.

At present, the organisation is directly supporting 499 people in the SOS families’ programmes and 8000 children and young people in family strengthening programmes which work with community based structures in 17 communities in Mzuzu, Lilongwe, Blantyre and Chikhwawa.