LILONGWE - Malawi is one of the countries hardest hit by climate change. Major floods and extreme drought mean that the harvest fails year after year. Girls are then easy prey for human traffickers.
To escape poverty and famine, many young girls end up in prostitution. And almost half of them marry before they turn eighteen, even though that is prohibited. Anke Dirix and Roel Nollet of The Redhorse Collective investigate the link between climate change and gender violence.
The photo shows Maureen Phiri, a youth activist who was abused herself as a child. She now works with the organisation Chance for Change to get girls out of human trafficking. They organise activities - including boxing lessons - for the girls to work on their self-confidence and mental well-being. They also give sex education lessons in schools, to make sure the girls stand up for each other and recognise human trafficking - and traffickers - in their lives.
TELEVISION
A Girl's Gaze, Vranckx en De Nomaden, VRT/Canvas, 17/04/2021 (te herbekijken tot 16/04/2024.