one in three women
in Malawi experience
gender-based
violence
GJU makes justice more accessible for women and girls in Malawi through community-based legal empowerment, mobile justice services, strategic litigation, feminist advocacy, and legal technology. We work with survivors, frontline workers, community liaisons, courts, police, traditional leaders, and partners to turn legal rights into practical support, protection, and accountability. GJU’s community-led access to justice model, first strengthened in Dedza District, is now being expanded to 11 districts across Malawi. This scale-up builds on a practical, survivor-centred model that combines community liaisons, mobile legal clinics, mobile courts, psychosocial support, referral pathways, and legal technology, including EmpowerLine and the 4285 IVR line. It marks GJU’s movement from a tested district-level model to a wider national pathway for accessible, community-rooted gender justice.
Partnering with
We focus on legal empowerment as one of the most powerful tools for advancing gender equality and social justice
● Our work is making a difference across Malawi
women and girls reached with legal support and counselling
downloads of the free EmpowerLine App
service providers trained on GBV laws and survivor-centered response
community focal points equipped to support local cases
Calls on the EmpowerLine IVR System with an Average of 7 calls a day
● Empowerline app
Putting legal information directly into the hands of those who need it most
EmpowerLine Malawi is a mobile app designed to support women in Malawi with easy, accessible legal information.
The app provides simplified guidance on key legal issues — including family law, property rights, workplace rights, and gender-based violence — helping women better understand their rights and take action when facing legal challenges.
Built with accessibility in mind, EmpowerLine offers:
A legal information hub in plain language
Emergency contact numbers
A built-in chatbot to help users navigate categories and get support
● OUR WORK
We turn legal rights into community power through legal empowerment, legal tech, mobile justice, and feminist advocacy
At the Gender and Justice Unit, we believe justice must be lived, not only written into law. We work hand in hand with communities across Malawi to make the law accessible, understandable, and useful in everyday life. Our model combines legal information, survivor-centred support, community liaisons, mobile legal clinics, mobile courts, strategic litigation, research, and digital tools such as EmpowerLine and MalawiLII. From Lilongwe and Dedza to 11 districts, we are scaling a practical model of gender justice that connects communities to the systems meant to protect them.
Stay informed. Subscribe to our newsletter
Support our work
Explore how your support helps advance legal empowerment and gender justice in Malawi.
● resources
Tools, knowledge, and analysis to drive justice
We produce accessible guides, in-depth research, and legal tools that support informed decision-making, community action, and feminist advocacy.
(1)
Publications
(2)
Reports & Tools
(3)
Podcast
● bLOG
Voices for Justice
Explore powerful narratives, videos, and updates from the communities, advocates, and frontline workers advancing gender equality across the country.
11 May 2026
Bringing justice closer to home: Our 2025 Annual Report
READ POST
14 April 2026
GJU Board Chair Reflects on the SAT GBV Convening: A Regional Conversation We Need
READ POST
Want to make a difference?
Join our team of volunteers supporting gender justice in Malawi.