By Mary Sichali

Karonga, November 20, Mana: Female officers from the Malawi Police Service and the Malawi Prison Service, in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender, held a parade on Wednesday in Karonga District to raise awareness and reduce cases of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) against women and children.

The parade called operation "Basadi" which literally means 'women' in Sotho and Tswana languages is an operation by female police officers across countries in the SADC region and it focuses on combating priority crimes particularly against women and children, such as defilement, rape, assault, human trafficking, domestic violence and child labour among others.

Public Relations Officer for Karonga Police, Constable Magret Msiska said they conducted the operation to create awareness to the public and ensure that female police officers are integral in dealing with GBV against women and children.

"Through the victim support unit office, we are sensitizing the public about GBV and its dangers, the penalties involved and case reporting procedure," Msiska said.

She added that the common forms of GBV in karonga are; rape, assault, sexual intercourse with a minor and sending children to sell items during school hours.

"Sometimes women and children may not know that they are experiencing violence. That is why we are putting effort towards building awareness even in schools to keep children informed about their rights to minimize the cases," she explained.

District Gender Officer for Karonga District Council, Ireen Mwenelupembe said GBV cases are rampant in the district and that the initiative by the police will play a vital role in dealing with the status quo.

"As a council, this year from January up to now we have registered 757 cases of GBV while last year it was 500 cases. This informs an escalation and I believe the exercise may aid the lowering of GBV numbers," Mwenelupembe said.