In a bid to contribute towards ending Gender Based Violence (#GBV ) in Malawi, YONECO with support from Trocaire, conducted community dialogue sessions which attracted men women and the youth in Machinga, Balaka, Ntcheu and Dedza district.
The sessions enabled men and women to open up and list down various forms of GBV they face in their communities. The issues that were raised include sexual violence as well as psychological, physical and economic abuse. Both men and women, with support from their community leaders developed some action plans that are aimed at addressing various root causes of #GBV at community level.
The community members also identified the problem of forced child marriage as one of the factors that are contributing to increased cases of #GBV and violation of girls’ rights in their areas.
“This is a great initiative as we do not come together as men and women to discuss various issues that affect us. As a community leader, I will work tirelessly to ensure that the action plans we have developed are being implemented,” said Group Village Head Nyombe from the area of Traditional Authority Kaphuka in Dedza district.
In total, 1,030 community members (640 females and 390 males) attended the sessions which also attracted members of various community structures like Area Development Committees (ADCs), Village Development Committees (VDC), Community Action Groups (CAGs) among others.
