"UNICEF has launched a national STOP Child Abuse Campaign as part of the commemoration of the Day of the African Child marked annually on 16 June. The one-year campaign is in collaboration between UNICEF, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Plan International and other civil society organizations to break the silence around child abuse in Malawi. The campaign aims to mobilize leadership and commitment at all levels to prevent violence, exploitation and abuse against children. Violations of children’s rights to protection take place everyday in Malawi and children are at risk of death, poor physical and mental health, HIV infection, homelessness, vagrancy and poor parenting in their future. They also miss educational opportunities that affect their future negatively.

The UN Study on Violence against children commissioned by the Secretary General in 2005 revealed shocking realities of violence against children.

Malawi has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1991 and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1987. Under these conventions, the government has an obligation to respect, protect, facilitate and promote the fulfilment of the rights that are enshrined in these conventions. These instruments and conventions must be translated into concrete legislation, interventions and development programmes." Read On

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