We stand with Rosina and Maggie: Justice for women and girls subjected to prostitution in Malawi

By Caleb Ng’ombo, Executive Director, People Serving Girls at Risk (PSGR), and Evans Munga, Program Officer, Africa, End Sexual Exploitation, Equality Now

Lilongwe, Malawi, July 11, 2025: The brutal murder of Rosina Hara, a 27-year-old woman in prostitution from Luwinga Township in Mzuzu, Malawi, is a harrowing reminder of the extreme violence and human rights violations that sexually exploited women face. Rosina’s body was found mutilated, bearing deep injuries to her face and private parts in an act of extreme gender-based violence that was both targeted and dehumanising. 

Rosina’s case is sadly not an isolated one. It is part of a much broader national failure to protect women from sexual exploitation and violence. 

Women and girls are pushed into the sex trade through multiple, often interrelated, pathways. Poverty, gender-based violence, limited access to education and economic opportunity, and the ongoing failure of governments to protect women’s and girls’ rights all foster conditions in which exploitation thrives. Traffickers and others who profit from the prostitution of others use these systemic inequalities to prey on vulnerable women and girls, reinforcing a cycle of abuse and gender-based violence.

Governments must address gender and systemic inequalities that give rise to vulnerabilities, and ensure timely access to justice and accountability of perpetrators. To truly protect women and girls, duty bearers must address the root causes of exploitation and hold systems – not survivors – accountable.

Malawi must do more to protect women and girls

Strong laws are essential to protecting women and girls from commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking, but without effective implementation, they remain empty promises. In Malawi, a significant gap persists between legislation and enforcement, with few perpetrators held to account. 

This disconnect between the law and its implementation exposes vulnerable women and girls to continued harm and prevents them from getting the justice and support they deserve. Without meaningful enforcement and survivor-centred justice, Malawi’s legal system is failing to serve those most at risk.

Maggie’s case

A demonstration of this is how state actors have mishandled a sex trafficking case involving a survivor called Maggie*, who was just 16 years old when she was trafficked and sexually exploited in prostitution within Malawi after being tricked into leaving her village by false promises of legitimate work. Since 2018, Maggie has been seeking justice, but her case has been plagued by multiple delays in the criminal justice system.

Malawi-based People Serving Girls at Risk (PSGR) and international women’s rights organisation Equality Now have been supporting Maggie’s quest for justice, and are seeking to hold the Government of Malawi accountable for failing to progress with the prosecution. A complaint has been submitted to the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC), which is currently reviewing Maggie’s case.

Implementation gaps in Malawi’s response to sex trafficking

Malawi’s Trafficking in Persons Act of 2015 (No. 3 of 2015) aims to establish measures for preventing and eradicating trafficking in persons, to facilitate the creation of the National Coordination Committee to address trafficking in persons, and to oversee and manage issues related to trafficking in persons, along with any related matters.

In 2023, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) issued recommendations to Malawi, urging the country to address the root causes of sexual exploitation and eliminate stigma and violence against women in vulnerable situations. The Committee specifically recommended that Malawi amend its laws to decriminalize women engaged in prostitution and establish exit programmes for those wishing to leave. It further called on the government to adopt measures to reduce the demand for prostitution, with a strong focus on combating all forms of objectification of women.

In 2023, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Committee issued recommendations to Malawi, calling on the country to address the root causes of sexual exploitation and eliminate stigma and violence against women in vulnerable situations. The Committee specifically recommended that Malawi amend its laws to decriminalize prostituted women and establish exit programmes for those wishing to leave. It further called on the government to adopt measures to reduce the demand for prostitution, with a strong focus on combating all forms of objectification of women.

PSGR and Equality Now submitted recommendations to the UN Universal Periodic Review on how Malawi could strengthen its response to trafficking for sexual exploitation.

Unfortunately, Malawi has not taken the necessary actions to comply with CEDAW’s directives. The country has failed to establish the legal, social, and economic conditions required for women like Rosina to live free from sexual exploitation, marginalisation, and violence. This ongoing inaction demonstrates the government’s failure to fulfil its international human rights obligations and protect those most at risk.

The Government of Malawi needs to strengthen its response to trafficking by adopting a holistic, ecosystem-based approach, particularly in addressing sexual exploitation, which constitutes a massive part of the sex trade and sexual exploitation of women and girls. 

How language shapes justice for women in Malawi’s prostitution crisis

Law enforcement and media reports have referred to Rosina as a “sex worker,” which assumes that she was in a form of legitimate labour. However, we urge the use of more accurate and dignity-affirming language, “sexually exploited woman,” which reflects the coercive and exploitative conditions that define many women’s experiences in the sex trade.

In line with the policy positions of PSGR and Equality Now, we reject narratives that legitimise sexual exploitation. We challenge the narrative that prostitution is freely chosen work and instead affirm the lived realities of women who are subjected to prostitution or bought and sold in the sex trade. 

When laws and social attitudes fail to recognise sexually exploited women as rights-holders, they are unseen, unprotected, and ultimately unacknowledged by the very systems meant to protect them.

A call for political will and immediate action

We urgently call on the Ministry of Homeland Security and the Ministry of Justice, the Malawi Human Rights Commission, and Parliament to urgently and transparently respond to Rosina’s murder, not only through condemnation but through immediate structural reforms that prioritise protection, prevention, and justice.

To this end, we urge the Government of Malawi to:

• Conduct a rapid, transparent, and public investigation into the murder of Rosina Hara to ensure accountability and justice. 
• Fully implement Malawi’s national and international obligations, particularly the CEDAW Committee’s 2019 recommendations.
• Provisions of the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others.
• Provide comprehensive training for police officers, judicial officers, and social workers to address stigma, ensure survivor-centred responses, and uphold the rights of women in prostitution.

Our commitment

Equality Now and PSGR commit to broadening advocacy efforts through partnerships with civil society organisations, government bodies, and regional institutions to: 

• Drive collective impact, 
• advance systemic change by challenging discriminatory norms,
• close legal gaps, 
• work to strengthen accountability mechanisms that protect women and girls from exploitation and abuse,
• Promote the adoption and effective implementation of national, regional, and international obligations, including the Palermo Protocol, the Maputo Protocol, and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, to ensure commitments are translated into real protection and justice. 
• championing survivor-centred policies and practices to ensure that those most affected by sexual exploitation are heard, supported, and empowered. 

Through these commitments, we reaffirm that achieving gender equality and justice is not only possible but essential, and it requires building an ecosystem where laws, institutions, and communities work together to uphold the rights and dignity of every woman and girl.

*Maggie’s name has been changed to protect her identity.

First published by Story Club FM