Malawi police this week announced that
recorded cases of rape in the country have more than doubled since 2018,
with young girls as the main victims. Law enforcement authorities blame
superstitious beliefs that defiling a minor brings luck or wealth for
the rise in rape and sexual assault. But clinical psychologists say
mental health is more to blame.
Spokesperson for Malawi Police
Service James Kadadzera expressed particular concern over the
substantial rise in cases of rape against minors compared to cases
involving adults.
“As far as rape is concerned, in 2020 though we are remaining with
December to wrap up the year, we have already registered 423 cases.
However, statistics to do with defilement [are] very alarming. In 2020,
though we are not yet done with December, we have already registered
1,738 cases,” Kadadzera said.
Local media in Malawi have recently been awash with news on rape,
incest and defilement. Figures from the National Statistics Office show
that for the last three months of this year alone, the rate of sexual
abuse cases has been 35 per cent higher than the same period last year.
This forced Malawi President Lazarus
Chakwera last week to announce strict measures against perpetrators. In a
recent incident, police arrested a 31-year-old man in Zomba district
accused of raping a five-month-old baby on November 25.
This came a few weeks after police in Blantyre arrested a man for
allegedly raping a two-year-old female child, killing her and dumping
her body in a black plastic bag.
Kadadzera said police investigations have revealed that more men
sleep with minors largely because of superstitions that if one sleeps
with a minor that person would get cured from chronic disease, get rich
or promoted at work.
Dr. Chiwoza Bandawe, a professor of Clinical Psychology at Malawi
College of Medicine, says that mental and societal issues are to blame.
He said the rise in sexual assault cases could be a combination of
mental health problems and men’s tendency in the country to have
dominance over women.
“There is also what we call paedophilia to young children. So that
might also be a possibility that some might find young children
attractive but figures as to how many, we don’t actually know because
there have not been those detailed psychological profiles of
perpetrators,” Bandawe said.
Nevertheless, women rights campaigners have proposed criminalization
of all traditional practices that perpetuate sexual assault on women and
girls. Rachel Warren, a lecturer in Anthropology at Catholic
University, says it is not easy for Malawi just like other African
societies to move away from superstition-driven crimes.
“No, it will not end. It’s part of our belief systems that actually
exist among us. They are entrenched in us. So, it’s just a matter of
knowing how to control it because what we have is more of a
‘habitization’ of the system where our traditional beliefs are still
entrenched in what we carry on with life,” Warren said.
Police spokesperson Kadadzera said besides arresting perpetrators,
police have partnered with traditional leaders in a national awareness
campaign against sexual abuse of women and girls.
