Police officers drilled in child protection

Malawi Police Service has drilled officers in Nsanje District in child rights to enable them protect children from various forms of abuse they face in school and at home.

The training follows the launch of Safe Children at Schools and Homes Project with funding from Unicef.

Speaking on Friday on the sidelines of the two-day orientation in Nsanje, Malawi Police Service national child protection officer Andrew Bokosi said officers should be in the forefront of protecting children from abuse.

He said: “We have trained officers from all police formations in the district in children’s rights.

“The police introduced a Child Protection Policy which officers should be familiar with; hence, the training.”

Bokosi observed that some schools still administer corporal punishment, which is against the law.

“Officers have also learned how to use the suggestion box placed in schools,” he said. 

In his remarks, Nsanje Police Station officer-in-charge Seleman Mtambo thanked his superiors for the training.

“About 85 percent of officers trained are those from police formations where child abuse and gender-based violence cases are reported most,” he said.

One of the participants, Nsanje District community policing coordinator Rex Mlawu said they will provide psychological support to victims.

Speaking in a separate interview, a mother group member at Nyamadzere Primary School, Angela M’bumpha, said the training came at the right time.

“Now it will be easy for us to report child abuse cases to police as they are aware of the Child Protection Policy,” she said.