Turning Survivors of Sexual Violence Into Role Models: The Story of Trinity Basikolo.

Early pregnancies and Forced Child Marriages continue to top the ladder of by products of Sexual Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in Malawi. A 19-year-old Trinity Basikolo is one of the survivors of SGBV and a young mother who uses her story to inspire adolescent girls to fight SGBV, including early sexual debut which results in teen pregnancy and forced marriage.

She attests that when she got pregnant and dropped out of school, she went through emotional distress. But thanks to peer educators under Genet's Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) project who came to her rescue.

Genet is implementing the AGYW project in Mulanje district with financial and technical support from World Vision Malawi and the Global Fund.

Trinity said: "I was emotionally disturbed the moment I became pregnant and dropped out of school. I saw my world crumbling because nobody seemed to care about me. I felt like giving up by taking my own life. But until a peer educator from Genet visited and counseled me on the possibility of returning to school after giving birth, I began to gather pieces of my broken heart and future," says Trinity.

With a series of meetings with the peer educators, Trinity was convinced that her pregnancy was not an end to her life. She then joined forces with a team of peer educators to motivate pregnant girls and teen mothers until she gave birth.

"I thought of using my personal experience to motivate pregnant girls and teen mothers who sometimes feel helpless after being abused or rejected by society. My message to survivors of SGBV is that there is life and a bright future after getting pregnant, giving birth, or being abused. Life must go on. What is important for the survivors of SGBV is to belong to safe spaces where they can meet and interact with positive mentors," says Trinity.

Trinity plans to return to school once her months-old child turns a year old. But she emphasized the need utmost need for adolescent girls to abstain from early sexual debut and fight SGBV.

"What is paramount for adolescent girls is to abstain from premarital and unsafe sexual encounters which can expose them to diseases like HIV/AIDS and unplanned pregnancy. I believe that prevention is better than cure." Says Trinity in conclusion.