About

Violet Banda is a reporter and children’s rights activist from Malawi. Banda was born with HIV, and lost both parents to the disease. HIV is Malawi’s leading cause of death, and the majority of infections occur amongst young people. More than half a million Malawian children have been orphaned by AIDS. The spread of HIV is linked to the prevalence of violence against children; nearly one in five adolescent females report the use of force or coercion during their first sexual experience. HIV and its victims are widely stigmatized in Malawi.

Banda first openly spoke of being HIV-positive when she was interviewed by Radio Timveni, a popular radio news program. After being interviewed, she started working as a youth reporter for the program to uncover violence against children on the national radio. The radio program focuses on children’s rights by letting children tell their own stories. Speaking anonymously, they expose accounts of rape, abuse and forced child marriages. The program is nationally popular. Television is rare, and newspapers have little circulation, making radio the most important information channel. Radio Timveni works to educate children about their rights, and seeks to hold the government accountable to ensure that these rights are respected.

“I want to expose injustices against children, now I dare to interview anyone, even politicians."

Radio Timveni has gained a wide audience, and other media have started investigating cases of abuse revealed on the show. The children's show has also achieved influence on Malawi’s political agenda. After one of the programs exposed a teacher who had impregnated a student, the Minister of Education personally intervened to make sure the case was investigated.