Malawian University Lecturers Under Fire Over ‘Sex For Grade’ Allegations
According to a statement released by Malawi’s Civil Society Education Coalition (CSEC), some professors at public and private universities in Malawi are coercing female students to engage in sexual intercourse for passing grades.
Reporting these claims, local papers like the Malawi Voice and Nyasa Times have reported on the claims that date back to 2019 with CSEC stating, “Reports spanning several years expose a distressing pattern of abuse and exploitation within Malawi’s educational institutions. Incidents such as a private university seeking to counsel for a student coerced into sexual favours for grades as reported by Malawi Voice in November 2022,
and public university lecturers leaking exams to students with whom they had conjugal relationships, as documented by Nyasa Times in September 2020, underscore the pervasive nature of the problem. Similar allegations highlighted by Face of Malawi and Nyasa Times in December 2019 reveal a troubling trend of female students being coerced into sexual acts in exchange for grades. These reports reflect a longstanding issue that demands urgent action.”
Nyasa Times shares that a young degree holder came forward with the allegations that a Humanities lecturer based at Mzuzu University coerced her together with other fifteen students into engaging in sexual acts.
According to the woman who sought anonymity, the sextortion she suffered for more than four years left her with psychological damage further claiming that she had considered committing suicide on several occasions during her time as a student.
CSEC is composed of 82 voluntary and independent organizations and pushes for the right to quality education in Malawi and has lambasted authorities and the Ministry of Education for not acting promptly to the allegations. The group has also called upon the Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC) to conduct a public hearing regarding the matter. The statement read,
“The continued reported cases of sex-for-grades are not only a dent on the university authorities (Chancellor and management) but also the entire university and Malawian communities.
These reprehensible acts not only undermine the credibility of our educational institutions but also erode the trust and confidence of the broader society in the integrity of our academic system. Universities should be bastions of learning, promoting dignity and equality, yet these exploitative practices tarnish their reputation and make them unsafe environments for genuine scholarly pursuits,”
According to a report by United Nations Children’s Fund one in five young adult women experienced sexual abuse in Malawi before 18 years perpetrated by acquaintances, classmates and boyfriends. A 2015 report on Gender-based violence against young adult women in medium and low-income countries shows that 25% of women in Malawi age between 15-19 characterized their sexual debut as forced.
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