Ntchisi chief hopes to end gender violence

Traditional Authority (T/A) Nthondo of Ntchisi has said results of the pilot Spotlight Initiative have shown that his area will eliminate gender-based violence (GBV) within a short period.

The chief said this yesterday when representatives of the United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU), who initiated the project, visited the area to appreciate the progress made in the pilot phase.

He said that from December 2018 to June 2019, 43 gender-related cases were reported through the community victim support unit established under the project.

“Now, people are able to notice and report GBV which was not the case before. The project has broken the silence which was killing people,” said Nthondo.

In her remarks, UN resident coordinator Maria Jose Torres advised the community to continue at the pace they have started to transform their area.

“You are moving at the right pace and if you continue this way, the project will attract many areas and scaling up will not be a problem,” she said.

EU social sector and infrastructure delegation to Malawi team leader Virginie Lafleur Tighe said the project was initiated to mobilise people to end violence against women and girls.

“This is a very important project because it will liberate women from different forms of violence and social injustices. In so doing, they will be empowered in many aspects,” she said.

Thokozani Damba, a member of Nthondo Community Victim Support Unit said some of the cases registered through the committee include, rape, defilement, property grabbing and forced marriages.