Malawi is among the countries where key populations such as the LGBTIQ community are facing various forms of discrimination across different sectors of the society due to their sexual orientation. With support from Southern Africa Litigation Center (SALC), we are implementing the Umunthu Inclusive Society project and we have been engaging Primary Justice Actors (PJAs) to understand the social climate of LGBTI people, and its interplay with global health, mental and social wellbeing.
“I wish I was exposed to this information when I was still at the law school, I have misjudged members of the LGBTIQ community. And, frankly speaking, before this workshop, I couldn’t provide justice to such people,” expressed First Grade Magistrate from Mkanda in Mchinji district.
To ensure that the process is all-inclusive, individuals from the police service, judiciary, LGBTI activists, lawyers and independent human rights activists took part in curriculum development prior to these Umunthu dialogues. The PJA workshops have been conducted in the targeted districts of Mchinji, Dedza, Phalombe and Chikwawa. Participants include Police Victim Support Unit Officers, community policing officers, investigations officers, lay magistrates, and community and religious leaders.
This initiative is being complemented by convergence workshops with the LGBTIQ+ community members and their family and friends in Mchinji and Dedza to build a network that will be effective in responding to human rights violations. The family and friends are being engaged as allies so that they offer immediate support to the LGBTI community members.
At a later stage, the project will also seek to raise awareness of the situation of LGBTI people in Malawi by engaging key stakeholders through advocacy art pieces that will be produced by LGBTI people themselves.
