Women in Blantyre District, which was one of the hardest hit when cyclone Freddy made landfall last month, are now reporting cases of gender-based violence (GBV), according to local media.
Malawi 24, reported that the district’s gender office registered cases of sexual harassment and GBV from flood survivors in camps.
“We have heard from the gender office that there is gender-based violence, sexual exploitation happening in camps. This is a worrisome development and we are encouraging everyone experiencing these malpractices in camps to report to relevant authorities,” said Blantyre District Health Office Health Promotion Officer, Chrissy Banda.
“Our fear is that, if the gender-based violence remain unchecked and unreported, it may fuel further spread of sexually transmitted infections, which may affect health services. So, we are pleading with them to report anything they encounter in the camps and even in our communities.”
Cholera crisis
Ms Banda reported that the health office is now working closely with the gender office to ensure there are more interventions to end such malpractices in camps.
She spoke last week during a Media briefing on infordemic management, addressing the ongoing cholera crisis, which is but one of the triple threats facing women in Malawi.
As of April 4, the district had registered 8,338 cumulative cholera cases with 214 deaths.
“We are paying much more attention to cyclone Freddy camps as there are fears of further spread of the outbreak amid reports of inadequate water supply, poor food hygiene, low risk perception and use of untreated water by the floods victims.”
Due to poor hygiene, the camps have also began reporting cases of scabies.
Malawi is still reeling aftermath of the country’s most devastating tropical storm, which affected 15 districts of the southern part of the country, displacing more than 500,000 people and claiming more than 500 lives. There were 92 evacuation camps at the peak of the cyclone Freddy disaster but now only 27 remain.
