Source: Star Africa
Malawi has launched the first-ever report on human rights violations on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in the country, APA learns here Tuesday.

The report seeks to build a strong evidence base for effective advocacy, public awareness and social change efforts.

Speaking during the official launch of the report in the capital Lilongwe on Tuesday, the United States envoy to Malawi, Mike Gonzales said it was important to shed light on abuses of human rights that exist in our societies.

“If we bring these issues to the public eye we can begin the process of ending future abuses, bringing justice to the victims and holding the perpetrators to account,” he said.

Gonzales said the abuses which are inflicted based on someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity are not acceptable.

Gonzales, however, expressed worry over increased cases of abuses experienced by minority groups not only in Malawi but across the African continent.

In her part, the Centre for People’s Development (CEDEP) Executive Director Gift Trapence said the report was a reflection of what the sexual minority groups experience in their day to day life, the life defined by inequality, exclusion, violence, name calling, physical and emotional abuse.

“We believe that these abuses are fuelled by the punitive laws in our penal code that have always stirred up homophobia and have had very toxic effects on people’s lives,” he said.

He said time has come for the government and its stakeholders to break the silence on how they look at gender-based violence issues and stand up to publicly condemn violence based on sexual orientation.

Trapence therefore appealed to the government to introduce laws that can protect all Malawians equally regardless of their sexual orientation.

• Malawi