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Justice Must Not Retreat

In January, five refugee families came to Inua Advocacy with a heartbreaking report: their daughters, aged 13 to 15, had disappeared from Dzaleka Refugee Camp and were later found having been sexually abused. Medical examinations confirmed the abuse, and the girls were discovered in the home of an adult refugee.

Instead of receiving immediate protection, the police reportedly advised the families to resolve the matter informally. Such guidance denies survivors justice and exposes them to further harm. For victims of sexual violence, silence is often presented as the “easier” path, but at Inua Advocacy, we know that silence is dangerous.

In response, we formally wrote to the Officer-in-Charge of Police, demanding the lawful prosecution of all suspects, urgent protection for the affected children and their families, and an immediate end to intimidation and informal settlements that undermine justice. We also supported officers from the Criminal Investigations Section in Lilongwe to act on intelligence indicating that additional girls might be held under similar conditions. Tragically, by the time the officers arrived, the girls had likely been moved.

This tragic situation emerges against a backdrop of weakened child protection in Dzaleka. Since the withdrawal of funding by USAID, organizations that previously managed child protection, supported survivors of gender-based violence, and coordinated foster care for orphaned children have had to scale back or stop services entirely. As a result, over 100 orphaned children remain unregistered, without access to food assistance, and largely invisible to the humanitarian system, left extremely vulnerable and without the protections they need.