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Study title: National study on child trafficking in Malawi
Client (s): ILO/IPEC, UNICEF, Ministry of Women and Child Development
Location: Malawi (20 districts)
Sector: Child protection, policy
Team Leader: David Mkwambisi
Partners: Thokozani Ngwira, Mathews Madola
Supervisors: Sylvia Chindime and Edgar Lungu
Period: February to May, 2008
Background:
Programmes that aim to prevent and control child trafficking in Malawi have been undertaken without proper data collection and information management. Currently, the country does not know the number and gender of those children that have crossed the boarder for forced labour. This covers both internal and cross-border child trafficking. State and none-state agencies are not aware of the main challenges in determining the main routes of child trafficking, the actors involved and the main source of children trafficked for various reasons. Malawi has not developed and identified the database to be used by statutory and non statutory agencies in recording cases of child trafficking. There is lack of information of the levels of knowledge among Malawian agencies involved in this area. There is need to identify relevant child concern databases used by practitioners where children have gone missing or who are at risk of harm. There is need to consider what additional analysis / investigative actions might help in refining the assessment of child trafficking estimates at local and national level.
Despite some legal and policy framework being in place, there is need to review them such that intervention frameworks are addressing trafficking within, through and from Malawi. These institutional frameworks should be linked to other international conventions for proper planning and programming. Based on the definition of child trafficking, there is need to understand the group of actions or the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a children at country level. This will provide significant data on the means by which the actions are carried out. The study will also allow quantifying the dangers, conditions and forms of child trafficking and main centres that are promoting the exercise. This will provide information and mechanism to identify perpetrators at both national and regional level.
PURPOSE AND GOAL
Child trafficking is argued to be one of the most important issues of the 21st century in developing countries. This research will examine the magnitude and extent of this problem at country level in Malawi. The research will be undertaken with the aim of examining the magnitude of the problem, producing predictive tools of likely child trafficking migration patterns, and make possible estimates. It is expected that the research will come up with policy and technical recommendations that will assist in planning for future interventions.
The consulting team understands the specific objectives of the research to be as follows:
To review the extensive literature on child trafficking.
To review the current legal, policy and intervention framework that address trafficking within, through and from Malawi.
To make consultations with national enforcement and preventive agencies
To undertake field visits to sample districts which are sources, transit points or destinations of trafficked children and hold discussions with the local leadership and communities
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