The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has urged faith based organizations to play an active role in the provision of care to victims of trafficking in persons in the country.
The remarks were made by UNODC National Project Officer on trafficking in persons, Maxwell Matewere during a three-day civil society training on victim protection and assistance held in Lilongwe.
Matewere said time has come for Malawi to train service providers, so as to ensure proper delivery of services to the victims of trafficking in persons, considering that the victims of such malpractices face various challenges when rescued and in the process of being trafficked.
He added that there is need for various organizations including faith based organizations to join the fight against trafficking in persons in the country.
On her part, Deputy Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Homeland Security Patricia Liabuba said participants are expected to be imparted with knowledge, skills and expertise on how they can support the victims of trafficking in persons.
Liabuba further noted that a good number of participants of the training were women, saying this was good since women are also the ones subjected to being trafficked.
In 2015 government enacted the Trafficking in Persons Act that aims at fighting against trafficking in persons.
The 2015 Trafficking in Persons Act prohibits all forms of trafficking and prescribes punishments of up to life imprisonment, without the option of fines.
