BLANTYRE (MALAWI)
ACI Africa - Association for Catholic Information in Africa [Nouaceur, Morocco]
January 18, 2025
By Silas Isenjia
The Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) has initiated a review of its Child and Vulnerable Adults Safeguarding Policy to strengthen measures aimed at protecting minors and vulnerable adults from abuse in the Southern African nation.
In a report following the review exercise that took place from January 14 to 16 at the Catholic Secretariat of Lilongwe Archdiocese, the ECM Chairman for Safeguarding emphasized the Church’s responsibility to ensure the safety of children and vulnerable adults.
“The Church in Malawi carries this responsibility with great care and dedication. Let us all work together to build a culture of safeguarding that permeates every corner of our society,” Bishop Peter Adrian Chifukwa said in the report published Friday, January 17.
The Local Ordinary of Malawi’s Catholic Diocese of Dedza added, “With God’s guidance, may we create safe and nurturing environments for all, especially for the most vulnerable among us.”
Bishop Chifukwa encouraged safeguarding officers and stakeholders to educate the faithful on safeguarding issues. He noted that safeguarding should not be limited to policies and institutions but should become a cultural norm, beginning in households and extending to communities.
Speaking at the same event, the Principal of the Catholic University of Malawi’s St Thomas More Campus in Lilongwe, Fr. Israel Madziakaphwa, provided participants with orientation on Vos Estis Lux Mundi (You Are the Light of the World), a document that urges Bishops to address abuse cases transparently.
Fr. Madziakaphwa highlighted the importance of understanding the document in addressing abuse within the Church.
“The Church has zero tolerance for anything contrary to the respect of minors and vulnerable people. It is totally against issues of sexual abuse, harassment, and any form of act contrary to the ethics of humanity. The document, therefore, guides investigation procedures, especially on sexual abuse about Clerics and the Religious,” he said.
He further stated that the safeguarding policy under review should include decentralized procedures for addressing abuse by individuals working in Catholic institutions and parishes. He stressed the importance of ensuring the policy is comprehensive enough to cover lay faithful involved in abuse.
“It is important for the officers and all stakeholders to know and understand the document because sexual abuse can involve the lay faithful as well,” Fr. Madziakaphwa said.
He added, “While there are procedures for priests and the religious, it is also important for the policy they are reviewing to decentralize these procedures for people working in catholic institutions and parishes if they happen to be involved in the abuse.”
In Malawi, child safeguarding policies and issues have garnered significant attention, with various organizations implementing measures to protect children from abuse.
The Malawi-Scotland Partnership has established a Child and Adult Safeguarding Policy aimed at protecting children and at-risk adults from harm.
Save the Children Malawi also has a Child Safeguarding Policy that mandates strict recruitment practices and appropriate responses to child abuse and exploitation.
UNICEF reports that children in Malawi continue to face neglect, exploitation, abuse, and violence, which threaten their future in a country where sexual violence against children remains a critical issue, occurring across all parts of society, including homes, schools, and communities.