Malawi MP demands legalisation of prostitution

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Karonga Central Member of Parliament (MP) Frank Mwenifumbo has pleaded with Malawi to consider legalising prostitution, claiming a lot of people in the country rely on the sex trade.

“We see young ladies and young men standing along our streets for this purpose. Why can we not legalise it? We are in denial and yet it is there in the open that we have people depending on commercial sex” he said.

Frank Mwenefumbo
Mwenefumbo: Legalise prostitution

Mwenifumbo made the remarks while contributing to the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Management) Bill.

He said with legalisation, Malawi will have a designated area for registered sex traders who, in turn, would undergo periodic health tests as one way of controlling new HIV infection.

However, his proposal was not included in the bill that was passed into law.

The bill was developed by the Malawi Law Commission in 2008 to provide an institutional framework for effective regulation of the prevention and management of the HIV and Aids epidemic in Malawi.

The bill had also proposed prosecution of people who deliberately infect other people with HIV and mandatory test for pregnant women. However, these provisions were amended before it was passed into law.