The culture of Secrecy fueling gender based violence cases

Violence against women and girls negatively affects citizens, societies and governments around the world. Malawi is no no exception. Gender-based violence is a global pandemic that cuts across ethnic, racial, socio-economic, and religious lines, and knows no borders. It includes physical, sexual, and psychological abuse; threats; coercion; arbitrary deprivation of liberty; and economic deprivation, whether occurring in public or private life. One in three women around the world will experience some form of gender-based violence in her lifetime. In Malawi, domestic violence is the most common form of gender-based violence, but other common forms include child sexual abuse; sex trafficking and forced labor; sexual coercion and abuse; neglect; and elder abuse. Physical violence vastly increases women ’s risk for serious medical conditions – including reproductive health problems, miscarriages, and sexually transmitted diseases. Country studies indicate that the risk of HIV among women who have experienced violence may be up to three times higher than among those who have not. Women with disabilities are two to three times more likely to suffer physical and sexual abuse than women with no disability. It is for this reason that the report is highlighting how the culture of secrecy is fueling gender based violence in Malawi in families and societies in Malawi. The special report also highlights how the conflict that arises between keeping a relationship is also leading to the increase of gender based violence. The report zeros in on two stories involving a Balaka based woman Mudelanji Kanyama who claims her husband ’s infidelity got her infected with HIV/AIDS. However, Mudelanji only revelaved this after she was found HIV positive a few months after her husband passed away. The other sad story also highlights the life of a physically challenged woman Susan Gondwe from Mzimba who was infected by a close relation on belief that she would cure him from HIV just because of her condition. The report also put recommendations on how to deal with issues of secrecy as one way of reducing gender based violence cases in Malawi.