Police approaches to victims of domestic violence in Malawi: a case of Kanengo and Lilongwe police stations

Manda, Shonduri Molly (2023) Police approaches to victims of domestic violence in Malawi: a case of Kanengo and Lilongwe police stations. Masters thesis, Northern Arizona University.

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Abstract

Domestic violence is widespread in Malawi. To address the issue of domestic violence, the government of Malawi, through the Malawi Police Services, established the Victim Support Unit in all police formations with an aim to protect, promote, and uphold the rights of victims of domestic violence. Prior research related to domestic violence in Malawi has focused on issues such as victims’ experiences of domestic violence, or factors leading to perpetuating domestic violence, but none have focused on police approaches to victims and issues of domestic violence. As police are often the first point of contact for domestic violence victims, it is important to know how police officers think about domestic violence and domestic violence victims because those perceptions may influence their response to domestic violence cases. This study therefore explored police approaches to domestic violence in Malawi. This study collected data from semi-structured interviews from a purposive sample of 20 police officers from two police stations and was focused on understanding police officers’ knowledge of local domestic violence laws and international treaties that Malawi is a signatory to and understanding police views of and responses to domestic violence. The findings indicated that some VSU officers were not aware of the local and international laws which they are supposed to know. The findings also indicated that police officers’ responses to violent crimes were based on the guidelines that the Malawi Police service developed and that officers often used discretion when responding to nonviolent crimes. The study recommended that the Malawi Police Service should introduce domestic violence in its initial training curriculum, take the responsibility of organizing and implementing victim centered approach training, provide enough resources to VSU, modify mandatory arrest policies in which there is need for the assessment of the severity of the violence to effect an arrest, and develop procedures for police officers to follow when responding to nonviolent crimes. Key words: domestic violence, victim, response.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	Domestic violence; Malawi; Victim-police interactions; Women
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of Social and Behavioral Science > Criminology and Criminal Justice
Date Deposited:	24 Jul 2026 18:14
Last Modified:	24 Jul 2026 18:14
URI:	https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/6312

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