Abstract


 
 
 Sexual abuse against women and girls in Malawi is pervasive, and survivors face significant barriers in their quest for justice. One particular barrier—the “corroboration rule”—stands out as a discriminatory and onerous roadblock for women and girls who seek justice as victims of sex crimes.
 The corroboration rule is a common law rule of evidence and criminal procedure that requires prosecutors trying sex offence cases to have independent evidence in addition to a victim’s testimony, even if that testimony is credible and shows beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the sex crime. This heightened evidentiary standard for victims of sex crimes is based on the stereotype that women and girls are apt to lie about being raped and that their word alone—no matter how clear, convincing, or credible—should not be enough to put a rapist behind bars. Because of the rule, too many women and girls in Malawi are not treated equally in the criminal justice system, and rarely are those who sexually abuse them brought to justice in court. This fosters a climate of impunity for rapists and sexual abusers.
 
 
 
 While many countries around the world used to require the corroboration rule in sexual offences, in the modern era, Malawi stands apart from the rest of the world as one of the few countries that still requires its use as a matter of common law. However, with a constitution that guarantees equality for women and girls and equal access to justice under the law, and as a State Party to treaties that guarantee the same, Malawi’s Parliament should abolish the corroboration rule.
 
 
 
 
 

Highlights

  • Sexual violence against women and girls in Malawi is pervasive

  • According to a United Nations report, 25.3% of all women and girls age fifteen to forty-nine in Malawi have experienced sexual violence at least once in their lifetime.[1]

  • A 2019 UNICEF report that examined the lived experiences of women and girl survivors of sexual violence in Blantyre, Lilongwe, and Mzuzu found such barriers to be deeply embedded in the Malawi criminal justice system.[6]

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Summary

Introduction

Sexual violence against women and girls in Malawi is pervasive. According to a United Nations report, 25.3% of all women and girls age fifteen to forty-nine in Malawi have experienced sexual violence at least once in their lifetime.[1]. Most of the time when a woman says ‘no’ she means ‘yes.’”5. Against this backdrop, survivors of sexual abuse face substantial social and systemic barriers in reporting incidents to police, aiding prosecutors in bringing a criminal case against an alleged offender, and seeing that alleged offender be brought to justice through the courts. A 2019 UNICEF report that examined the lived experiences of women and girl survivors of sexual violence in Blantyre, Lilongwe, and Mzuzu found such barriers to be deeply embedded in the Malawi criminal justice system.[6] of the 138 incidents of sexual violence that were tracked in the study, only one percent of the perpetrators (that is, fourteen persons) faced conviction.[7]

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