CHREAA and SALC are undertaking a qualitative research project that aims to explore legal empowerment approaches that can be used to address the issue of police abuse against marginalized groups in Malawi; street connected children, LGBTIQ community, informal traders and sex workers. The project intends to investigate how grassroots initiatives to combat police abuse can be translated into broader improvements in laws, policies, and institutional practices. It will also examine the potential of expanding legal empowerment approaches, along with legal organizing and collective action, to combat the problem of impunity for police abuse. SALC and CHREAA have critically evaluated and engaged with local communities to assess the effectiveness of legal empowerment approaches and strive to bridge the justice gap. To date, the empowered groups have successfully documented their concerns through various media outlets, engaged in meetings with law enforcement officers, established internal reporting mechanisms, and filed cases in court to address the injustices they experience. Additionally, street-connected children delivered a petition to the Independents Complaints Commission (ICC) and over 50 cases of abuse from the targeted groups have been reported to the ICC, the Malawi Human Rights Commission (MHRC), the Ombudsman and senior police officers at various police stations specifically addressing instances of police abuse.
