Prostitution in Malawi
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Prostitution in Malawi is legal[1][2][3] and prevalent around hotels and bars in urban and tourist areas.[2]
Many prostitutes in Malawi are young children.[4][5]
Overview
Whilst some street prostitution occurs, because of police harassment its extent is limited.[6] Most prostitution occurs in bars and hotels.[1][7] "Bar girls" are employed by the owners on very low wages, they make up their money by prostitution.[6] Although mostly employed by the bar owners, there are some freelance girls who will try and attract customers by moving from bar to bar.[6][7] Food handling hygiene rules require all staff employed in bars to have monthly health checks, but this isn't always enforced.[6] Often the bar girls are from rural areas, moving to the towns and cities in search of lucrative employment.[6][7][8]
Sex workers and NGOs report harassment and abuse from the police, including violence, theft and forced sex.[1][3][9] They also report that police take no action if abuse or violence by clients is reported to them by sex workers.[1][3]
Prostitution also occurs around the logging centres of Luwawa, Nthungwa, Raiply and Kalungulu.[10][11]
In previous years many women from Malawi went to work in Zambia's copperfields as prostitutes. The road leading towards Zambia came to be known as mtengamahule (conveyor of prostitutes). The border was subsequently closed to "unmarried women".[6]
Legal situation
Section 146 of the Malawi Penal Code prohibits living off the earnings of prostitution. This has been interpreted by the courts to include a sex worker's own earnings, effectively making prostitution illegal.[1][3] Section 184(c) of the Penal Code makes an offence of: “every person in or upon or near any premises or in any road or highway or any place adjacent thereto or in any public place at such time and under such circumstances as to lead to the conclusion that such person is there for an illegal or disorderly purpose, is deemed a rogue and vagabond.”.[12] (This law is based on the British Vagrancy Act 1824).[13][14] This legislation was used to target sex workers.[1][3][14]
In September 2016, the Zomba High Court ruled that Section 146 of the Penal Code was meant to protect sex workers against exploitation, not criminalise sex workers.[1][15] The court overturned the conviction of the 19 sex workers that had appealed against conviction by a magistrates court.[15]
In January 2017, three judges of the Malawi High Court declared section 184(1)(c) of the Penal Code unconstitutional and invalid.[13]
Human trafficking
Malawi is a source country for women, and children subjected to sex trafficking. To a lesser extent, it is a destination country for men, women, and children from Zambia, Mozambique, the Great Lakes region, and the Horn of Africa who are subjected to sex trafficking, and a transit country for people from these countries exploited in South Africa. Traffickers, primarily facilitators or brothel owners, typically lure children from their families in rural areas under pretences of employment opportunities, clothing, or lodging for which they are sometimes charged exorbitant fees, resulting in prostitution coerced through debts. Traffickers subject young girls to sexual exploitation in nightclubs or bars. Malawian victims of sex trafficking have been identified in Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, and Tanzania. Some young girls are drugged, gang-raped, and exploited in commercial sex. Some girls recruited for domestic service are instead forced to marry and subsequently subjected to child sex trafficking by their “husbands”. Fraudulent employment agencies lure women and girls to Gulf states where they are exploited in sex trafficking.[16]
The United States Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons ranks Malawi as a Tier 2 country.[16]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Sex Work Law - Countries". Sexuality, Poverty and Law. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
- ^ a b "The Legal Status of Prostitution by Country". ChartsBin. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "Universal Periodic Review of Malawi" (PDF). Sexual Rights Initiative. May 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
- ^ "Malawi: Prostitution fuelled by poverty and parental neglect". Rnw.nl. 2009-09-28. Archived from the original on 13 February 2010. Retrieved 2013-10-17.
- ^ "Islamic dressed sex workers worry Malawi Muslim community". Nyasatimes.com. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-13.
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=/|archive-url=timestamp mismatch; 7 March 2016 suggested (help) - ^ a b c d e f Forster, Peter G (2000). "Prostitution in Malawi and the HIV/AIDS Risk" (PDF). University of Hull. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- ^ a b c Kishindo, Paul (1995). "Sexual behaviour in the face of risk: the case of bar girls in Malawi's major cities". University of Malawi,. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "Malawi girls flock to Karonga in pursuit of the 'oldest profession'". The Maravi Post. 11 December 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- ^ "Malawi sex workers alliance demand respect, legalisation of prostitution". Nyasatimes.com. Archived from the original on 13 October 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-17.
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=/|archive-url=timestamp mismatch; 4 March 2016 suggested (help) - ^ "Sawyers queue for unprotected sex in Chikangawa". www.malawitoday.com. 2012-02-03. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 2013-10-17.
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=/|archive-url=timestamp mismatch; 20 April 2017 suggested (help) - ^ "The strange life of a sex worker in Malawi". GlobalPost. 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2013-10-17.
- ^ "Malawi: Challenging constitutionality of rogue and vagabond offence". SALC. 28 January 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
- ^ a b "Press statement: Malawi High Court declares rogue and vagabond offence unconstitutional". SALC. 11 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- ^ a b "Malawi using outdated law on rogue and vagabond - The Nation Online". The Nation Online. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
- ^ a b "Malawian Court Rules in Favour of Sex Workers". Global Network of Sex Work Projects. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- ^ a b "Malawi 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
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