2007 Trafficking in Persons Report - Center for Women Policy Studies

M A L A W I
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20 children were selected for remedial education,
while 20 older children were selected for vocational
training and job placement with export companies.
The centers’ physicians provided medical and
counseling services to victims, while labor inspectors
taught job search skills. In September, a third center
opened in Tulear. The government did not penalize
trafficking victims for unlawful acts committed as a
direct result of their being trafficked and encouraged
them to assist in the investigation and prosecution
of their exploiters. The Ministries of Justice and
Population collaborated to establish two counseling
centers for child exploitation victims. The Ministry
of Population and UNICEF provided joint technical
assistance to 11 child protection networks comprised
of government institutions, law enforcement officials,
and NGOs that provided counseling and rehabilitation
to children in prostitution and
forced labor. A network in Diego Suarez,
for example, handled cases of child prostitution
from the initial complaint through
the trial, including medical assistance and
legal advice for victims.
Prevention
Awareness of trafficking continued to
increase through a number of aggressive
information campaigns. In August,
the Ministry of Justice screened films on CSEC
in the capital, including the trafficking of rural
children to urban centers. The Ministry of Tourism
conducted awareness training at cultural events
for 250 tourism industry personnel, as well as for
women and children at risk of being trafficked in
seven different locations throughout the country.
The Ministry of Communication distributed posters
carrying messages against sex tourism to 150 post
offices and a film on the dangers of child prostitution
to schools throughout the country. The SSPS
conducted programs on child exploitation and
prostitution for 17,700 students, 75 administrators,
22 teachers, and 100 parents. It also educated 35
hotel managers and 24 “red zone” neighborhoods
in Antananarivo on child protection legislation.
The Ministry of Education conducted workshops on
the worst forms of child labor at 152 schools and
87 parent associations, and produced newspaper
articles, radio programs, and television spots. The
Ministry of Youth and Sports distributed fliers, posters,
and banners on delaying early sexual initiation
and available counseling that reached over 78,000
young people.
MALAWI (Tier 1)
Malawi is a source country for men, women, and
children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor
and sexual exploitation. Children are primarily
trafficked internally for agricultural labor, but also
for cattle herding, domestic servitude, commercial
sexual exploitation, and to perform forced menial
tasks for small businesses. Anecdotal reports indicate
that child sex tourism may be occurring along
Malawi’s lakeshore. Trafficking victims, both adults
and children, are lured by fraudulent job offers into
situations of forced labor and commercial sexual
exploitation within Malawi and in South Africa.
The Government of Malawi fully complies with the
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.
Malawi continued to make noteworthy progress
in tackling trafficking in persons, despite its
limited human and financial resources. To further
its efforts against trafficking, the government should
strengthen its legal and victim support frameworks
through the passage and enactment of comprehensive
anti-trafficking legislation.
Prosecution
The government maintained its vigorous anti-trafficking
law enforcement efforts throughout the year.
Malawi prohibits all forms of trafficking through
existing laws, including Articles 135 through 147 and
257 through 269 of the Penal Code, though a lack
of specific anti-trafficking legislation makes prosecution
more challenging and allows for a large range
of punishments meted out to convicted traffickers.
The punishment prescribed for trafficking under
existing laws is commensurate with that for other
grave crimes and is sufficiently stringent. The Child
Care, Protection and Justice Bill, which defines child
trafficking and sets a penalty of life imprisonment
for convicted traffickers, was approved by the cabinet
and is expected to be tabled by Parliament in 2007.
The Malawi Law Commission also began drafting
comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation. In 2006,
child labor and kidnapping laws were used to convict
10 child traffickers, one of whom was sentenced to
six years in prison with hard labor for attempting
to sell two children to a businessman. The remainder
of the cases involved trafficking of children for
agricultural labor and cattle herding. Some traffickers
were required to pay fines, compensation, and
the cost of repatriating the children to their home
villages; however, others who claimed ignorance of
the law were merely warned and released. During
the year, Malawian police worked with Zimbabwe’s
Interpol office and IOM to investigate a case of a
Zimbabwean victim trafficked to Malawi. Forty
additional labor inspectors were hired and trained