Blantyre district records 3000 cases of violence against children – Malawi24

Blantyre District Social Welfare Office registered over 3000 cases of violence against children (VAC) in the just ended year.

District Social Welfare Officer Stephano Joseph disclosed this on Friday during a capacity building workshop for district and sub district structures on child protection in Blantyre organised by Art and Global Health Centre Africa (ArtGlo).

Joseph said Blantyre district continues to register different forms of abuse and violence against children such as sexual exploitation, neglect, forced marriage, child trafficking among others in all eight Traditional Authorities (TAs) in the district.

He then commended ArtGlo for implementing different interventions in the district in Kuntaja and Machinjiri T/As to help reduce cases of violence against children.

Joseph also hailed ArtGlo for engaging community structures that deal with child protection issues for advocating for the rights of children and women.

“We are assuring the organisation that the knowledge we have gained here, will be decentralised to different structures at local level. the social welfare office will continue stepping up efforts to protect children,” he said.

ArtGlo's Youth and Community Engagement Manager, Lekodi Magombo, said there is need to strengthen linkages between different stakeholders to prevent VAC and Gender Based Violence at all levels and also ensure that the cases of the vice are meaningfully prosecuted.

Reported by Memory Chatonda