Legal Framework for HIV/AIDS in Malawi: Laws that Affect women and Children affected by HIV/AIDS in Malawi.

• This study was carried out to assess the legal framework in Malawi, in particular the laws that affect women and children with HIV/AIDS. Data were collected through unstructured interviews and focus group discussions. The information gathered was to be disseminated to parliament, law commission, and other interested groups for the formation of a Network on Law Ethics and HIV/AIDS in Malawi. The main objective of this study was to assess the knowledge levels of the ordinary Malawian and awareness of legal rights in relation to Women and Children with HIV/AIDS. The results of the survey show that people have a rudimentary knowledge of their inalienable fundamental human rights. They are aware of the rights to confidentiality, right to privacy, right to medial treatment, right to equal treatment, etc.

Location: CSR, Centre for Social Research, box 278, Zomba, Malawi. Email;csr@malawi.net, csr@sdnp.org.mw, csrbasis@malawi.net

Women and Development in Malawi

• The Study looks at the legal status of women, the role of women in the Malawian economy. It highlights the family roles of women. Women's relative access to factors of production - land, labour, and economic- extension, credit inputs and social-health, education, services is also discussed. Finally, the report surveys women's participation in politics and current development support aimed at women. It draws together some of the key points and makes tentative recommendations as to future strategic points of intervention and policy directions which may assist in redressing current gender inequalities faced by Malawian women.

Location: CSR, Centre for Social Research, box 278, Zomba, Malawi. Email;csr@malawi.net, csr@sdnp.org.mw, csrbasis@malawi.net

Malawi: Rape and Defilement Study

• Rape and Defilement Study was conducted in March, 1999. The main objective of this study was to investigate and examine the incidence of rape and defilement in Malawi. The study was conducted in Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Zomba towns. For data collection, the study used literature search, Key informant one-to-one interviews for primary data, desk study for secondary data. The report presents findings of the survey which are based on rape and defilement records which were kept in 1998 by 6 police stations, 8 hospitals and 6 magistrate courts; and data collected from the print media. On the national level, the study found that there is a high incidence of rape and defilement in Malawi. For the year 1998, there were 143 reported rape cases and 109 defilement cases. The findings of the study have revealed that on average, a total of 10 women/girls are raped/defiled every month in Malawi. The results further reveal that there is inadequate information on rape and defilement in the country and that statistics kept by the police, hospital and courts are unreliable. Registration of rape and defilement cases in all the institutions visited is not properly recorded.

Location: CSR, Centre for Social Research, box 278, Zomba, Malawi. Email;csr@malawi.net, csr@sdnp.org.mw, csrbasis@malawi.net

The Legal Aspects of Violence by Males Against Females in the Family of Malawi.

• The work aims at illustrating the legal aspects of physical, sexual and psychological forms of violence against women in the family. The study looks at the responses to the issue with an emphasis on the legal aspect. The study is essentially a desk work using available literature on the subject. Experts in the fields were also consulted. The study is based on library research on literature pertaining to violence against women in the family. The three major works used are those prepared by the United Nations Violence Against Women in the Family and Domestic Violence a Resource Manual. The study has shown that all female members of family in Malawi are at risk from violence by males. Righting the wrongs in the legal system will require more than the review of methods and procedures. For violence against women to be prevented and eliminated. There is need for a national civic education programme to increase an awareness of the extent of the problem.

Location: CSR/USAID, Centre for Social Research, box 278, Zomba, Malawi. Email;csr@malawi.net, csr@sdnp.org.mw, csrbasis@malawi.net, USAID, P.O. BOX 30455, LILONGWE 3, Tel: 265-772 455, Fax: 265-773 181-33, email:usaid.gov

Changes in the legal Status of women in Malawi in the Last Decade.

• Provides a listing of Laws that concern women in Malawi. According to this paper, the written law in Malawi does not discriminate people on the basis of gender, race or creed. Women in Malawi, therefore, under the written law are accorded the same legal status as the men.

Location: CSR, Centre for Social Research, box 278, Zomba, Malawi. Email;csr@malawi.net, csr@sdnp.org.mw, csrbasis@malawi.net

Women and the Law in Malawi.

• Documents laws which affect women in Malawi. It contains nine chapters that deal with legal topics as they relate to the present and is intended to be used by the community. It covers the country's constitution, the legal system and the administrative of justice, the legal status and the legal capacity of women in Malawi, including types of marriage, dissolution of marriages, economic and business, crimes which may be committed by and against women. The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is covered in chapter nine of this publication.

Customary Law and the United Nations Conventions on Women's and Children's rights.

• The purpose of this study was to analyse customary practices and how they either complement or are in contradiction to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women(CEDAW) and the Convention on the rights of Children (CRC). Interviews were conducted with men, women and children specifically, the primary objective of the study was to identify customary norms and practices which are imbedded and already exist in the social fabric of Malawian community life and that are positive or negative, compatible or incompatible, with convention for children's and women's rights as they are outlined in the CEDAW and CRC documents. Information from the survey indicate that, in general, there are more customary practices which conflict with CEDAW and the CRC than those which complement them.

Location: CSR, Centre for Social Research, box 278, Zomba, Malawi. Email;csr@malawi.net, csr@sdnp.org.mw, csrbasis@malawi.net

Gender, Law and Tradition Workshop.

• Report of a workshop on Gender, Law and Tradition, held in Mangochi from 4-7 August, 1995 which was convened by the Society for the Advancement of Women (SAW). The report deals with the definitions, causes and implications of rape and domestic violence, including ways in which certain traditional beliefs and responses contribute to violence and oppression against women. Presents a situational analysis and attempts to portray the social and legal reality of domestic violence. The report identifies existing support mechanisms and the way forward.

Location: CSR, Centre for Social Research, box 278, Zomba, Malawi. Email;csr@malawi.net, csr@sdnp.org.mw, csrbasis@malawi.net

146 WLSA-Malawi (2000)

In Search of Justice: Women and the Administration of Justice in Malawi

• Presents the finding of a research project carried out by the women and Law in Southern Africa Research Trust, Malawi Chapter. The research project sought to examine the structures that administer and deliver justice, focussing on how women access the same. The findings have, among other , shown that there is a discrepancy between the statutes in books, people's perception of custom and the actual practice. It has also been established that even when women know their rights and are prepared to use the formal court system to exercise them, there are still some inhibiting and interrelated factors preventing or discouraging them from doing so. The study examined the physical and administrative accessibility of the structures that women use in search of justice; examine the personnel working in such structures and their competence; among other objectives.

Location: CSR, Centre for Social Research, box 278, Zomba, Malawi. Email;csr@malawi.net, csr@sdnp.org.mw, csrbasis@malawi.net

147 Women's Voice (2000)

Traditional Practices, Customs and their Effects on Women's and Children's Rights.

• Presents the findings, analysis and recommendations of a study which was intended to find out people's knowledge, practices and attitudes on women's and children's rights, gender and women's participation in social and economic issues. The main objectives of the study were to gather information on cultural and traditional practices that impinge on women's and children's rights in Malawi and to assess people's knowledge of gender. The findings of the study revealed that since messages about gender started passing to the people, people have developed a degree of understanding of the concept. In its conclusion, the study indicates that the process of socialization and enculturation that put men into positions of power and dominance and women in positions of domesticity and submission continues in Malawi.

Location: WV,Women's Voice, P.O. BOX 30349, Blantyre, Tel:265-622 940, Fax:265-622 940, email:Women's-voice@sdnp.org.mw, CSR, Centre for Social Research, box 278, Zomba, Malawi. Email;csr@malawi.net, csr@sdnp.org.mw, csrbasis@malawi.net

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