Centre for Youth Empowerment and Civic Education has introduced a community safeguard framework to combat sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment of vulnerable girls and young women in Mangochi District.
The framework was unveiled on Saturday when the project’s donors visited Traditional Authority (T/A) Chimwala to appreciate the impact of their project which has been running since July 2024 and is phasing out this month.
The organisation’s Mangochi district coordinator Isaac Salimu said the framework is designed to strengthen community accountability mechanisms in protecting girls from violence and exploitation.
“We have developed a structured reporting and response mechanism that ensures cases of abuse are immediately addressed by duty-bearers, rather than being ignored or settled informally,” he said.
Aisha Kananji, a Form Three student at Lungwena Community Day Secondary School, said many girls previously suffered in silence as they experienced early marriages and parental neglect.
Group village head Chapola of T/A Namabvi said cases of abuse and exploitation used to go unreported.
“But now local leaders are protecting young girls,” he said.
Embassy of Iceland director of bilateral cooperation Palina Bjark Matthias Diottir described the framework as a game-changer in child protection efforts.
“I am impressed with the intervention as it has shown the critical role civil society organisations play in safeguarding human rights,” she said.
The NGO is implementing the Inclusive Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Promotion for Vulnerable Children, Girls and Young Women project with funding from the United Nations Development Programme through Iceland and the Royal Norwegian Embassy
