Malawi is a source country for trafficking, a transit country for individuals trafficked to South Africa, and, to a lesser extent, a destination country for people from neighboring countries. 

An in-country contact outlines three primary reasons why Malawi is a destination country: 1) there has been an increase of people being trafficked from Tanzania into Malawi to work in saloons and brothels; 2) people from Mozambique, typically young men, are trafficked into Malawi to work in the tobacco fields; and 3) individuals are trafficked from other parts of Africa to work in the casinos in Malawi.

The vulnerability of women and children in Malawi to trafficking is due to poverty and certain cultural practices that commercialize and sexualize young girls. There are established customs that involve the selling of young girls in marriage, either in repayment of a debt or for a dowry. For example, kuhaha involves a situation where a man arranges with a girl’s parents to take care of her until she is mature enough to marry him. Another practice is kutomera, where an older or wealthy man approaches a family and identifies a very young girl to be his future wife. A price is negotiated, and the girl is taken from the family when she is sexually mature.

Source:

 http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/countries/2015/243484.htm; http://www.eclt.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Child_Trafficking_and_Child_Labour_in_Agriculture.pdf