STATEMENT : CEDAW PRESESSION ON MALAWI

28TH FEBRUARY 2022
DELIVERED BY: DISABLED WOMEN IN AFRICA
Thank you very much for this opportunity to deliver our statement at the cedaw pre-session for
Malawi. This statement is delivered on behalf of women with disabilities who convened to bring
their input on issues that affect them as women with disabilities.
Women with disabilities experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination due to
their gender and disability.
GBV and Access to Justice
DIWA found out that WWDs face GBV in various forms that includes social, economic, legal and
political rights in Malawi and many times this violence goes unreported due to lack of
knowledge and awareness on rights violation, where to report and lack of courage due to
negative attitudes of assistants and service providers and of course access to justice is
compromised when issues of reasonable accommodation are not included
The One Stop Centres as well as the Police Victim Support Units and courts in Malawi are
mostly not accessible to Women with disabilities and Hotline services not relevant to women
with hearing impairment. Due to lack of training in disability, many actors in the justice system
do not know what to do when they are faced with certain types of disabilities.
Malawi’s Penal Code perpetuates stereotypes and stigma surrounding women with disabilities.
As the term idiots or imbeciles.” is widely used by police and judicial actors and this affects
sentencing of defilement cases. Failure to articulate specific disability rights or use the term
“disability” in legal frameworks often leads to complacency and discrimination.
Also, we note that laws criminalizing unlawful sexual activities in Malawi, do not include
mechanisms for helping the victims of sexual abuse – most of whom are women and girls with
disabilities. The laws concentrate on the offenders and their punishment, with little or no focus
on reparation for the survivors, whether in the form of attitudinal, environmental or
psychological assistance or indeed mental health care.
o What actions is the government taking to collect and analyze data on the prevalence of
violence against women with disabilities in Malawi and thereby ensure the availability of
disaggregated data by both gender and disability.
o What specific measures are in place for safety, support services and ensuring that legal
capacity is enjoyed by women with disabilities on an equal basis with others?
o What long-term and sustainable plans are there to ensure that law enforcement and
justice agencies, including police and prison staff, are trained in disability management
and gender sensitive approaches1?
o What measures have been taken to guarantee effective access to justice on an equal
basis with others for women with disabilities, such as free legal aid for women in
situations of poverty, What mechanisms are being put in place to ensure that women
and girls with disabilities, who are often victims of sexual violence, receive timely and
effective legal support?
Recommendation
o increase awareness and training in both informal and formal justice systems and to the
public in general on the freedoms and rights of women and girls with disabilities in
connection to GBV and are reasonably accommodated in police investigations and in
legal proceedings.
o Adopt measures to remove physical, structural, communication, and attitudinal barriers,
with a view to promoting full and unrestricted access by women with disabilities to
judicial and court facilities and services.
o Review of the laws that demean women with disabilities and enhance harmful practices.
Including revise section 139 of the Penal Code to reflect persons with intellectual
disability as human beings and not “imbeciles” and ensure sentencing consistent with
any other person according to the basic premise that everyone is equal before the law