Member of Parliament (MP) for Zomba Malosa Constituency Grace Kwelepeta has asked the courts to consider delivering gender-based violence (GBV) and defilement sentences in the communities as one way of addressing the vice.

She made the call on Monday during the 16 days of Activism Against GVB campaign constituency launch. The campaign was launched globally on November 25 and will end on December 10.

Kwelepeta said community mobile courts have a very big impact of improving the GBV situation for the better as community members will have a clear picture on the outcomes of such cases especially this time when men are also falling victims of the same.

“People in the community do not pay much attention on such issues because they only hear that someone has been convicted and sentenced but if the sentencing is being done in their presence, it’s obvious that it will ring a warning bell in their head,” she said.

In his remarks, Senior Chief Malemia has asked the courts to impose stiffer sentences to all GBV offenders.