Parliamentary Women’s Caucus has warned that gender-based violence (GBV) remains alarmingly high in Malawi, urging increased funding, stronger laws and better coordination to tackle the crisis.
Caucus chairperson Mary Maulidi Khembo, presenting a progress report in Parliament in Lilongwe yesterday, said reported GBV cases increased from 20 827 in 2022 to 24 900 in 2024 before declining slightly to 24 467 in 2025.
She said women remain the main victims while children account for about 13 percent of reported cases. Emotional abuse remains the most common form of violence, although economic and physical abuse are also increasing.
The report says the Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare faces funding constraints, transport shortages and inadequate staffing.
It also notes that the ministry’s reporting system is not linked to the police digital dashboard.
The report further says police victim support units continue to provide counselling, referrals and public awareness programmes but are limited by shortages of vehicles, specialised officers and nationwide coverage.
It also calls for stronger enforcement of the Gender Equality Act, arguing that it lacks adequate sanctions for non-compliance and does not sufficiently address technology-facilitated abuse.
Among its recommendations, the caucus wants government to increase funding for GBV and gender equality programmes to at least K500 million, procure vehicles and motorcycles for victim support units, establish a unified digital GBV database, review the Gender Equality Act, recruit more frontline officers and intensify public awareness campaigns involving traditional and religious leaders.
