Voice of incarcerated male youths in Malawi’s semi-urban prisons: a qualitative study

Objective Incarcerated male youths in Malawi’s detention facilities face multiple threats to their health and well-being. The most common challenges are overcrowding, poor sanitation and a lack of access to basic needs such as adequate food, bedding and healthcare. In addition, youth are vulnerable to sexual abuse.Design A qualitative approach using an exploratory study design was used to explore the experiences of incarcerated male youths in semi-urban prisons.Setting Two semi-urban prisons in Malawi.Participants Three focus group discussions (each with six participants) with incarcerated youths aged 18 were conducted.Results The following four themes emerged from the data: sexual violence perpetuated by other incarcerated persons; the need for sexual violence communication and prevention; trauma associated with incarceration and youth surviving prison life. The incarcerated male youths reported being given incentives such as extra food and adequate sleeping space in exchange for sexual favours with adult incarcerated people or incarcerated individuals with leadership positions. The victims of sexual abuse have had some difficulties reporting the incidences due to a non-existent reporting system for such matters to prison authorities.Conclusions This study reveals that the prison environment in Malawi is unsafe, particularly for incarcerated male youths who are at an increased risk of being victims of sexual violence. We recommend that the youths be separated from adults according to the Prison Rape Elimination Act standards. The prison officers should prevent incarcerated youth from having sight or physical contact with adult incarcerated people while in housing units. Policy-makers, prison authorities and researchers must safeguard and empower survivors of sexual violence in prisons.