โWe are sensitizing the workers on GBV forms and risks and provisions of Child Protection and Gender Laws of Malawi. Our call to action is for the workers to refrain from engaging in abuse and exploitation. We are also imploring the workers to report any GBV-related ordeals through grievances boxes placed in all campsites,” said Lewis Msiyadungu, Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) Chikwawa Diocese Projects Coordinator.
Msiyadungu was speaking during one of the sensitization meetings for construction workers in Chikwawa.
The SVTP GBV Service Provider, Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) conducted sensitization meetings with 168 construction workers in three construction sites belonging to Sinohydro, the company constructing the remainder of Main Canal 1 and part of Main Canal 2 in Chikwawa.
The sensitization meetings are part of GBV prevention measures by the SVTP in consideration of labour influx in communities surrounding the construction sites and potential human rights violations in the workplace.
“Labour influx in communities around the construction sites has potential to improve livelihoods of the people through increased economic activities however, the threat of GBV is also high. The risks for GBV are even more pronounced as the host populations are poor and regularly affected by disasters and hence quite susceptible to abuse and exploitation,” added Msiyadungu.
The meetings provided an opportunity for the workers to seek clarity on several GBV issues. Labour Unions were formulated in the three campsites and leaders were elected following these meetings.
A similar exercise was conducted in 2021 for Conduril construction workers working on the intake plus the first 6kms of the Main Canal and another special meeting was held targeting all female workers at the company.
The SVTP engaged the CCJP to implement gender-based violence prevention initiatives in the impact are
