By Wanangwa Tembo

Kasungu, December 11, Mana: Presiding Bishop for Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi (ELCM), Joseph Bvumbwe has appealed to the courts to help the fight against gender violence (GBV) by meting out stiff sentences to perpetrators.

Bvumbwe said it is worrying that there are rampant cases of violence in families as people no longer get scared with the sentences that the courts give out.

He was speaking in Kasungu on Saturday when he led a march of the ELCM faithfuls who later presented a petition to Kasungu District Council asking government to do more on the fight against gender based violence in families.

The march was part of the church’s activities towards the 16 days of activism against GBV which was being observed under the theme ‘Unite! Invest to Prevent Violence against Women and Girls. The campaign ended Sunday. 

The Bishop said: “It is in families where there must be peace. Unfortunately that is not the case. All we see is violence in the families and the victims are mostly children and women. It’s sad.

That is why as a church, we decided to take to the street to add to the voices that speak against violence. We thought we should do something because we believe our messages have some impact.”

He said the country has witnessed “unfortunate and shameful” acts where fathers sleep with their own daughters, young girls are forced to marry and husbands beat their wives and in some cases injuring or killing them.

“Where do people get the courage to kill others? We must look at the laws and ensure that they respond to the situation in Malawi. In the context of our country, we need laws that prescribe heavy punishments to offenders.

No one has the right to kill another person. So we are also calling on all relevant stakeholders and authorities to intensify teaching our people that they must respect life. We can   do better,” Bvumbwe said.

Receiving the petition on behalf of the District Commissioner, Kasungu Director of Planning and Development Annie Zimba said the council is committed to ensuring that cases of violence are reduced.     

“We will send the petition to the authorities so that the raised issues are addressed. On our part as a council, we are doing our best to collaborate with relevant partners to reduce these cases,” she said.

At least 35 percent of girls and women aged 15 to 49 years have experienced violence in the country, while 42 percent of women aged 20 to 24 were married before the age of 18, studies show.