1. Gender-violence and education in Malawi:
a study of violence against girls as an obstruction to
universal primary school education
Thomas Bisika, Pierson Ntata, and Sidon Konyani
Presentation by Celina Villarroel, Mauricio Muñoz, and Lucía Zuppa
2011

2. Thomas Bisika
 Demographer and public health specialist;
 Research Fellow of the Centre for Social Research and instructor of
social research and demography at Chancellor College, University of
Malawi;
 Graduate of Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA.
 Currently, Programme Specialist at United Nations Population Fund and
Senior Lecturer at the University of Pretoria School of Public Health.
Pierson Ntata
 Sociologist;
 Head of the Sociology Department at Chancellor College, U. of Malawi;
 Graduate of the University of Warwick, United Kingdom.;
 Affiliate Fellow of the Centre for Social Research of the University.
Sidon Konyani
 Biostatistician;
 Fellow of the Centre for Social Research of the University of Malawi;
 Graduate of the University of Southampton, United Kingdom.

3. FACT SHEET – estimates for 2011
• Total population: 15,879,252
• Sex ratio: 0.99 male(s)/female
• Life expectancy: 51.7 years
• Over 1,000,000 orphans
(70% due to AIDS epidemic)
• Ranked 4th poorest country in the world
• Family income is less than $1 per day

4. UNICEF
 UN MDGs: Millennium Development Goals
DAW: Division for the Advancement of
Women
ActionAid International
UPE: Universal Primary Education
VAW: Violence Against Women
EAs: Census Enumeration Areas
FGDs: Focus Group Discussions

5. Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
Goal 7: Insure environmental sustainability
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development

6. Source of publication
METHODOLOGY
Sample Design
CONCLUSION
Title
Data Collection and Analysis
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Findings
Authors
Forms of(1-5)
NOTES violence against girls
Date of publication
Reports of violence in schools and
communitiesCONTRIBUTORS
NOTES ON
Abstract + key words
Extent of violence against girls
REFERENCES
Perpetrators of violence
INTRODUCTION
Incident reporting and actions taken
Effects of violence on education

7. This study – funded by ActionAid and UNICEF – sought to
determine the extent to which violence prevents girls
accessing primary school education in Malawi. It further
sought to identify the different types of violence that girls
experience when in primary school; the perpetrators of this
violence; and where the violence takes place. The study
established that girls are subject to several forms of violence
as a result of their gender; that such gender-based violence is
detrimental to their experience of primary education; and that
it negatively affects their ability to access education in Malawi.
Keywords: Malawi; education; gender-based violence

8.  Overview of GOAL 3 status in Malawi based on previous research
 Goal has not been achieved, despite free UPE
 Increase in enrollment, but mainly for boys
 High drop-out rates, higher for girls
The Declaration on the elimination of violence against
women of the UN General Assembly (1994) defines Violence
Against Women (VAW) as
Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely
to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or
suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion
or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in
public or in private life. (as cited in Bisika et al., 2009, p. 288)

9. • ‘VAW is not only a manifestation of unequal power
relations between men and women, it is also a mechanism
for perpetuating such inequalities’ (p. 288)
• UNDAW: Fear as a barrier to report VAW
Overview of what constitutes VAW:
• Physical and emotional abuse
• Behaviors: property damage, ridicule, threats, etc.
• Beliefs: ‘women and girls occupy a subordinate status in
[Malawian] society and are expected to be obedient and
submissive; this makes it difficult for them to resist or
complain.’ (Newsletter Gender Violence in Schools in
Malawi, 2004, as cited in Bisika et al., 2009)

10. NICHE (p. 288)
‘little research has been done to determine the role that
gender-violence plays in deterring Malawian girls from
achieving their academic potential’
PURPOSES (p.288-289)
• to gain a detailed understanding of the barrier that
gender-violence presents [in preventing girls from
• accessing UPE] different types of violence that are
to determine the
currently attendant in Malawian primary schools,
• to identify the perpetrators and their victims, the contexts
in which the violence takes place, and the mechanisms that
perpetuate violence against girls in school.

11. TANZANIA
Malawi > 3 Regions > 27 districts > 60
ZAMBIA Lake Nyasa EAs
1,496 households were surveyed:
MOZAMBIQUE - NORTH: 497 (33.2%)
- CENTRAL: 495 (33.1%)
- SOUTH: 504 (33.7%)
MOZAMBIQUE In total, the survey covered 56 of the 60
sampled EAs, and all interviews that
were attempted were successfully
completed, yielding a response rate of
Map from Ask.com > Districts of Malawi
100%.

13.  Figures reporting age, marital status, number of children,
and schooling of respondents.
 Forms of violence
Corporal punishments
Punitive labor
Food withholding
Sexual assault, rape, inappropriate touching
Forced marriage
Verbal abuse
Parental neglect
Enforced isolation
Social ostracization
Denial of access to education
Discriminatory classroom practices

14. 43.9 % reported inappropriate touching happening at:
 Home 1.1%
 Religious functions 4.9%
 Public locations 10.5 %
 School 48.7%
Frequency of VAW incidents:
 rarely 60%
 occasionally 28.6%
 common occurrence 11.4%

15.  Fellow pupils 52.2%
 Friends 16.2%
 Strangers 16.2%
 Boyfriends and local villagers 3.5%
 Teachers 3.8%
 Street vendors 3.2%
 Male relatives 2.5%

16.  47.8% reported the assault
 52.2% did not report the assault
Reasons for not reporting
o 52.2 % did not realize such incidents were offenses
o 15.4% were intimidated not to do it
o 11.4% were afraid
Leading causes
o Ignorance
o Fear

17.  32.8% → no action was taken
 67.2 % → some action was taken
• nearly half were not satisfied with the actions taken
• a large proportion were unclear as to what type of
action would be appropriate.

18.  60.9% reported that VAW affected their school performance
• 38.8% adversely affected their education
• 3.3% drop out of school
Main cause: inappropriate touching

19.  VAW plays a key role in preventing girls from participating
fully in education.
 VAW is widespread and endemic in Malawi.
 Fellow pupils are main perpetrators of VAW.
 There is an alarming pervasiveness and acceptance of such
abuses because teachers appear as perpetrators too.
 Less than half of the cases of VAW are reported.

20.  How can education contribute to decrease VAW?
 Do you think that violence against children is related to VAW? If so,
how?
 School enrollment in the Province of San Luis in 2006
55,141 EGB 1 and 2 levels
22,269 students registered in EGB 3 level
12,499 Polimodal level
Source: Sistema Estadístico Nacional > Red Federal de Información Educativa
 Schooling, income, and gender in the city of San Luis as of 2006
 20,4% men and 20,1% women completed high school.
 8,1% men and 15,5% women completed university education.
 Average income is 183,3 for men and 139,3 for women.
308,6 for men and 236,3 for women with professional degrees.
Source: INDEC & DPEyC San Luis

22. Bisika, T., Ntata, P., & Konyani, S. (2009). Gender-violence and education in Malawi: a
study of violence against girls as an obstruction to universal primary school
education [Electronic version]. Journal of Gender Studies, 18(3), 287-294.
CIA World Factbook (2010, Dec.). Malawi Demographics Profile 2011. Retrieved April,
21, 2011, from http://www.indexmundi.com/malawi/demographics_profile.html
Districts of Malawi. (2011) In Ask.com. Retrieved April, 21, 2011, from
http://www.ask.com/wiki/Districts_of_Malawi
Equality Effect. Video. Retrieved April 21, 2011, from http://www.theequalityeffect.org
INDEC and Dirección Provincial de Estadísticas y Censos San Luis. (2008). Análisis de
educación, ingresos y género. Retrieved April 21, 2011, from
http://www.estadistica.sanluis.gov.ar > Anuario > 2008 > Anexo > Análisis de
educación, ingresos y género.pdf
Sistema Estadístico Nacional and Red Federal de Información Educativa. (2006).
Alumnos matriculados por nivel y sector. Provincia de San Luis. Retrieved April, 21,
2011, from http://www.estadistica.sanluis.gov.ar > Datos > Educación > Alumnos
matriculados por nivel, año 2006.pdf
United Nations Development Programme. (2000) Millennium Development Goals: Basic
Facts. Retrieved April 21, 2011, from http://www.undp.org/mdg/basics.shtml