by Laura Collins

19 November 2007

Lilongwe, Malawi: The driver beeps; the fare collector slides open the minibus door revealing a crowded mass of occupants inside, and yells ‘Town! Town! The expectant passengers clamber in and the rusty white van heaves off again, veering its way through the roadside dust onto the road to town.

This would be your view when you to look out of my office window. A busy road, brightened over the last few weeks with fire engine red stickers adorning the back of every car and minibus.

The stickers shout: "STOP Child Abuse!" A handprint emphasises the point. This is the subject of a new nationwide advocacy campaign promoted by the Malawian Government and supported by UNICEF Malawi. The stickers are the first public step in a year-long programme of events and strategies designed to deliver this message to every Malawian.

Four million children in Malawi live in poverty. 1.2 million are orphaned. 1.4 are in child labour, and 39% of married persons here are children between the age of 15 and 18 years. The campaign has lessons for us all: the message applies at home in Ireland as well as here.

The purpose of the campaign is to break the silence around child abuse. The campaign aims to mobilise leadership and commitment at all levels with a view to prevent and respond to violence, exploitation and abuse against children – including commercial sexual exploitation, trafficking, child labour and harmful traditional practices, such as early marriages. The campaign also targets children who are uniquely vulnerable to these abuses, such as when living without parental care and those in conflict with the law.

To quote the recent press release, "Violations of children’s rights to protection take place every day in Malawi and are extensive, under-recognised, and under-reported."

Children subjected to violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect are at risk of death, poor physical and mental health, HIV/AIDS infection, homelessness, vagrancy and poor parenting in their future. They also miss out on educational opportunities that impact their future negatively.’

The UN Study on Violence against children commissioned by the Secretary General in 2005 revealed the shocking realities of violence against children. Malawi has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1991 and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1967.

Under these conventions, the government has an obligation to respect, protect, facilitate and promote the fulfilment of the rights that are enshrined in these conventions.

Finally, and with my UNV hat on, the message of this campaign is applicable worldwide, and thus reveals another way for you to get involved: volunteer at home in Ireland, work with policy makers and all organisations that work with children to STOP Child Abuse.

Laura Collins is working as a UNV volunteer for UNICEF Malawi and is sponsored by the Irish Government through Irish Aid. Through her work with UNICEF, she is helping build the capacity of Malawi's Ministry of Education in monitoring, evaluating, datamanagement and policy planning.