BIU Blantyre International University

ASSESSING COMMUNITY ADHERENCE AND EFECTIVENESS OF

COMMUNITY BY-LAWS ON CHILD PROTECTION
A CASE OF T/A CHANTHUNYA IN BALAKA DISTRICT

Josiah Jere
BCD/2015/01/046
Thesis Supervisor: Mrs. M. Memayako
Thesis Defense Presentation
28 July 2017
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
1. Introduction
2. The problem statement
3. Research questions
4. Significance of the study
5. Theoretical framework
6. Research method and design
7. Sample size
8. Sampling procedure
9. Data collection
10. Data analysis
11. Findings
12. Recommendations
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INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

 Child abuse and neglect

 Child abuse and neglect have profound devastating effects on the growth of the children to
realize their full potential (UNICEF, 2013).
 Community-based child protection approaches
 Many people in communities that have By-laws on child protection do not adhere to them. As
such, many children are forced into early marriages, dropping out of school, prostitution, teen
pregnancies, begging along the streets, juvenile crimes and many other inhumane acts.
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THE PROBLEM STATEMENT

 Despite seemingly remarkable efforts on child protection many children continue to suffer
from myriad cases of child abuse in Malawi.

 Many people within the communities feel that enforcement of By-laws on child protection
was difficult because of many freedoms that the new political dispensation brought.

 This mostly was due to the fact that the By-laws are not written and enforcement is dependent
on the charisma and strength of the local leaders (Kafakoma & Silungwe, 2003).

 Lack of a comprehensive study to assess community adherence and effectiveness of

community By-laws on child protection clearly shows that there was a gap of knowledge
regarding why many people do not obey community By-laws on child protection.
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RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The study attempted to answer the following research questions:

 How community By-laws on child protection are formulated and enforced?

 What types of community By-laws on child protection being made in villages?

 What are the factors that influence noncompliance to community By- laws on child
protection?

 What are the attitudes of communities on the effectiveness of community By-laws in

protecting children from abuse?

 What approaches should be followed to ensure that community By-laws on child protection
are adhered to?
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SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

 The study will help to strengthen the use of community By-laws to protect children from
abuse

 The findings of the study will help to advocate for the involvement of communities in both
formulation and enforcement of By-laws.

 It was believed that the findings will help in influencing government policy making and
implementation of the best practices that protect children from various forms of abuse.

 In academic circles, the study will generate knowledge that will contribute towards
understanding the use of community By-laws on child protection and expose gaps for further
academic research for academicians.
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THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
 Social Capital Theory
The main proponents of the theory were Pierre Bourdieu, James Coleman and Robert Putnam.

 Definitions

 Putnam (2000) asserts that social capital refers to connections among individuals – social
networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them.

 Adam and Roncevic (2003) defines social capital as those stocks of social trust, norms and
networks that people can draw upon to solve common problems.

 According to World Bank (2005), social capital refers to the institutions, relationships and
norms that shape the quality and quantity of a society’s social interactions. It is the glue that
holds them together.
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 Implication of Social Capital Theory to the Study

 The social capital of communities, which include cultural values, beliefs, norms and
interpersonal relationships between members, is been eroded by inequality and social
exclusion.

RESEARCH METHOD AND DESIGN

In this study, the researcher used the mixed approach.
 Quantitative method of data collection was largely used to capture numerical information as
designed in the questionnaire. 
 Qualitative approach, was used to derive meaning out of the respondents' description and
explanation of issues raised in the questionnaire and interview guides.
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SAMPLE SIZE
 The study targeted village headmen, members of community child protection committees,
children and the ward councilor of the area where had By-laws on child protection.

 The study also targeted child protection officer from development non-government
organization working in the District on child protection and District social welfare officer as
professionals in the field under study.

 In total, 40 participants were targeted and only 39 were reached.

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SAMPLING PROCEDURE
 This study used both non-probability and probability sampling techniques.
 The study adopted purposive sampling to identify key informants such as The District
Social Welfare Officer, child protection officer from NGO, Councilor and local leaders.
 The study also used probability sampling technique in which simple random sampling was
employed.
DATA COLLECTION METHOD
 Semi-structured interview was used to collect the primary data from the traditional leaders,
members of child protection committees and children.
 The questionnaire was used for child protection workers and the councilor whom most of
them were educated.
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DATA ANALYSIS
 Simple quantitative measures of analysis were used by computer packages like Microsoft
Office Excel and Microsoft Office Word.
 In this study, analysis was based on research objectives and questions as well as content
analysis.
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FINDINGS
 Demographic Data
Table 4.1: Showing gender distribution of respondents
Category Frequency Percent
Male 22 56
Female 17 44
Total 39 100
Source: Field Data.
 According to the findings shown in (Table 4.1), of a total 39 respondents analyzed, 56% were
males and 44% females.
 This shows the level of women involvement in child protection issues had always been not
up to expectations.
 The empowerment of the disadvantaged groups like women, children and youths who find it
difficult to have their interests represented and voices heard in the decision-making processes
remain to be crucial in child protection.
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 How community By-laws on child protection are formulated and enforced

 Formulation of Community By-laws on Child Protection

Table 4.2: Showing how some players in child protection initiate the formulation of
community By-laws on child protection (%)
Never Rarely Sometimes Often All the times Total

Chiefs 5.1 7.6 16.1 31.2 40 100

Child Protection Committees 5 18.2 27.7 24.9 24.3 100

Village Development Committee (VDC) 21.4 31.1 29.3 13.3 4.6 100

Area Development Committee (ADC) 27.6 34.1 20.5 9.7 8.2 100

Community members 46.8 32.4 15.3 4.3 1.2 100

District Council 29 26.1 19.6 17.6 7.6 100

NGOs 0.6 3.6 7.3 31.3 57.3 100

Source: Field Data
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Formulation of Community By-laws on Child Protection

continue…
 88.6% of the respondents declared that Non-Government Organizations (NGOs)
working in the area on child protection initiated the process 'often' and 'all the times'
while local leaders accumulated 71.2%.

 5.5% of respondents declared that, ordinary community members ‘often’ and ‘all the
times’ have the initiative for development of By-laws.
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Formulation of Community By-laws on Child Protection

continue…
Table 4.3: Showing to what extent some players in child protection influence in a certain
manner the development process of community By-laws on child protection (%)
  Score (%)
Chiefs 31
Community members 5
Child Protection Committee 23

Village Development Committee(VDC) 10

Area Development Committee 7
District Council 11
NGOs 13
TOTAL 100
Source: Field Data
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Formulation of Community By-laws on Child Protection

continue…
 The study indicated that chiefs scored 31% on influencing the formulation process of
the By-laws on child protection, followed by child protection committee with 23%.

 These findings reveal that chiefs and child protection committees tend to control and
exert considerable influence during formulation of community By-laws on child
protection.

 The findings show that, the influence of ordinary community members over the
formulation process of community By-laws on child protection was rather weak with
least 5% score.
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 Approval of community By-laws on child protection by high authority

Figure 4.1: Pie chart showing approval of community By-laws

Yes
21% 23%
No

56% Do not know

Source: Field Data

 56% of respondents said that the community By-laws on child protection were not approved
and 23% said were approved.
 The respondents believed that communities in general have limited knowledge of steps to
follow to ensure that the By-laws are approved.
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 Level of community participation in formulation of community By-laws on child

protection
Figure 4.2: A bar graph showing Community participation in community meetings of formulating
community By-laws on child protection.
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Attended but rarely Attended always Sometimes attended Have not attended

Source: Field Data

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Level of community participation in formulation of community By-laws on child protection

continued…
 The findings show that 36% at least attended and have rarely participated in the process of
developing the By-laws on child protection, while those who have always participated at 25%,
followed by those who sometimes participate at 18%.
 This shows that participation in the formulation of community By-laws process in Balaka
District still needs more efforts to ensure attendance of community members and stakeholders.
 Enforcement of community By-laws on child protection
Figure 4.3: A pie chart showing communities’ adherence to community By-laws on child protection

15% Yes
27%

No

58% Do not know

Source: Field Data

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Enforcement of community By-laws on child protection continued…

 58% noted that there is lack of communities’ adherence to community By-laws on child
protection as opposed to those who said there is community adherence to by-laws on child
protection at 28%, while 15% said they do not know.
 Factors influencing noncompliance to community By- laws on child protection
 Limited involvement of communities in enforcement of By-laws

 Limited understanding of the law enforcement process by members of the community and
their leaders

 Weak leadership
 Types of community By-laws on child protection being made in villages
By-laws on Education
By-laws on Health
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Types of community By-laws on child protection being made in villages continued…

Figure 4.4: A pie chart showing types of community By-laws made in villages

18% Have By-laws on Health

33%
Have By-laws on Education
49%
Have both By-laws

Source: Field Data

 The majority of the respondents (49%) agreed that had community By-laws on education.
 33% of respondents acknowledged that they had By-laws on health.
 8% of respondents reported that some communities had both community By-laws on
education and health.
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 Attitudes of communities on the effectiveness of community By-laws on child protection

as a means of protecting children from abuse.

 Communities’ perceived importance of community By-laws on child protection

Figure 4.5: A bar graph showing communities’ perceived importance of community By-
laws on child protection
Do not know0
Strongly disagree 13
Disagree 15
Agree 54
Srongly agree 18
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Source: Field Data
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Communities’ perceived importance of community By-laws on child protection

continued…
 72% of respondents said community By-laws on child protection
are an essential mechanism for protecting children from sexual abuse, neglect, early
marriages and many more.

 28% did not value community by-laws on child protection as importance.

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 Communities’ and child protection workers’ attitudes on effectiveness of community

By-laws in addressing child protection issues.
Figure 4.6: A bar graph showing attitudes of community and child protection workers
on effectiveness of community By-laws on child protection
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly Do not know
disagree

Source: Field Data

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Communities’ and child protection workers’ attitudes on effectiveness of community By-

laws in addressing child protection issues continued...
 Most respondents at 55% disagreed to negative attitudes towards the use of community By-
laws on child protection compared to those who agreed at 22.5%.
 Best approaches that will help to enhance communities’ adherence and effectiveness
of community By-laws on child protection
 72% of the respondents involved spoke strongly suggesting the need for increased community
participation in the development of By-laws on child protection compared to 15% of
respondents who doubted.
 The study established that community By-laws on child protection have to be approved by the
high authority such as the District Council to be legally binding.
 Understanding the processes of enforcing By-laws on child protection.
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 Recommendations
 Sensitization should be considered strongly by the District authorities. Lack of knowledge
or information on community By-laws on child protection has crippled their effectiveness
as many communities do not know procedures of developing such legal instruments.

 There is need to review regularly the legal and regulatory instruments for the development
of community By-laws to suit the changing social, economic and political context as well
as the changing trends of development.

 District Council to spearhead monitoring of communities that seek to develop community

By-laws on child protection.