Law Commission engages volunteers on child abuse
Malawi Law Commission chief civic education officer Gills Msiska has bemoaned the rise in cases of child neglect, saying they expose children to violence.
He said this on Wednesday in Kasungu during a training of area civic education coordinators from the district who are part of the National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) Trust volunteer structure.
Msiska said the commission has noted a knowledge gap on child and gender-related laws among communities which affect children’s education; hence, embarked on the training to bridge the gap.
He said: “In 2022, we partnered Nice Trust to conduct legal literacy sessions in schools and communities to raise awareness on child rights and protection issues.
“This time we arecontinuing with capacity building for the volunteers who work on the ground, updating them on laws that have changed in regard to child protection.”
Msiska said the country lags behind in enhancing child protection and called for collaborated efforts among stakeholders.
Kasungu Nice Trust programmes officer Pilirani Chaguza thanked the Law Commission for the training which he said will help to reduce child abuse cases in the district.
He said: “Like our case in Kasungu, we have many cases of child marriages, child labour and now cases of child trafficking are also becoming rampant. So the training has come at the right time.”
The legal literacy activities is being funded by United Nations Children’s Fund.
