Stakeholders have proposed a review of the 2015 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Act amid revelations that at least 23 Malawian women and girls are trafficked weekly for sexual exploitation.
Rights activist and Women’s Manifesto Movement member Lingalireni Mihowa, speaking in Lilongwe yesterday at the opening of a review meeting, warned that the rising numbers show that Malawi’s legal and enforcement systems are failing.
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“We have the law in place, yet cases keep coming. This tells us the law itself is not strong enough, or the enforcement mechanisms are too weak,” she said.
The review, convened by People Serving Girls at Risk (PSGR) with support from Equality Now, seeks to identify loopholes in the law and recommend reforms that strengthen protection for women and girls.
PSGR executive director Caleb Ng’ombo said the weekly statistics were disturbing, stressing that trafficking is happening both abroad and within local establishments.
“On average, 23 reports reach us every week,” he said, adding that traffickers exploit poverty and lure victims with false promises of jobs or relationships, often through social media.
Mihowa said the crisis is worsened by poor coordination among agencies and corruption.
“How can a vehicle carrying trafficked people leave Songwe Border and only be caught in Blantyre or Mwanza? Corruption is rampant,” she said.
A survivor from Blantyre, whose name was withheld, shared her ordeal of being tricked by her fiancé with a job promise in Lilongwe, only to be dumped in a bar and forced into sex work.
The crisis has global links. In March 2024, the BBC reported 54 Malawian women lured to Oman with job offers but trapped in slave-like conditions before being repatriated with government intervention.
Malawi Network Against Trafficking in Persons national coordinator Caleb Thole said Malawi now functions as a source, transit and destination for trafficked people, raising the stakes for reform.
Equality Now global lead on sexual exploitation Tsitsi Matekaire urged governments to strengthen both laws and survivor support.
The meeting is expected to consolidate recommendations into a roadmap for amending the TIP Act and closing loopholes traffickers continue to exploit.
