Malawi Police Service has signed an MOU with a consortium of three NGOs; Women’s Legal Resource Center (WOLREC), Girls Empowerment Network (GENET), and Human Rights for Women and Girls (WAG) Disability to tackle Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) against women and girls.
According to Maggie Kathewera Banda, Programme Lead for the consortium, the partnership aims to support the prevention of gender based violence prevalent in marriages and intimate relationships through a project called Pamodzi Kuthetsa Nkhanza (PKN).
Banda emphasised that in four years, the project will be providing economic support, legal assistance, and counseling to victims. Banda said 42% of women and 59% of expectant mothers in Malawi face IPV which provokes the urgency of their MOU.
Commissioner Victoria Magwaya, Head of Human Resources for Malawi Police, noted that the MOU will strengthen the Police’s Victim Support Unit in protecting victims and provide much-needed support to the challenges they face.
The PNK Project is being supported by the UK government through their foreign commonwealth and development office with funds of £4.5 million for four and a half years.
By Yamikani Makanga
