The UK government will through the Department for International Development (DFID) from 2018 to 2014 support Malawi with a maximum of £19 million (MK18,679,961,152) grant to tackle Gender Based Violence (GBV).
In a statement released Friday, head of DFID in Malawi Jen Marshall said the programme will support Malawian citizens and institutions in preventing GBV and improve access to justice for women and child survivors of violence.
DFID has since invited organisations to submit bids for the implementation of the new flagship six-year programme.
“Globally, gender-based violence is one of the most systematic and widespread human rights violations. In Malawi, despite a robust legislative and policy framework to promote gender equality and tackle gender based violence, prevalence rates of violence against women and children continue to be very high,” the statement reads in part.
The statement further says the UK consulted widely with Malawian stakeholders in all three regions of the country in the design of the programme and established that nearly one in three women has experienced physical violence and one in four has experienced sexual violence in their lifetime.
One in five girls and one in seven boys under the age of 18 have experienced sexual violence.
Said Marshall: “Through this programme, we will help individuals, government and non–governmental organisations prevent violence in the first place, and to better respond to violence when it occurs.
This investment is DFID Malawi’s major contribution to the efforts of the Malawi Government and civil society to address gender based violence. We look forward to working with all stakeholders to ensure that more women and children are living a life free of violence.”
The UK Secretary of State for DFID, Penny Mordaunt recently said championing the rights of women and girls is an absolute priority for the UK Government – both at home and overseas.
The statement added that the UK support is expected to build on the many different efforts already underway and to ensure that the programme is aligned with the National Plans of Actions on Gender Based Violence and on Vulnerable Children in Malawi, the National Technical Work Group on Gender Based Violence will act as an advisory panel for the programme.
The Ministry of Gender, Children, Disabilities and Social Welfare will co-chair the advisory panel.
