English By Lameck Masina Share on Facebook Print this page BLANTYRE - Courts in Malawi have started imposing stiffer penalties on perpetrators of rape and sexual abuse. The move is seen as a response to calls from various rights campaigners who have been lamenting lenient sentences given to offenders. Though excited, rights campaigners say more needs to be done. Statistics from the Malawi Police Service show that recorded cases of rape in the country have more than doubled since 2018. Figures from the National Statistics Office show that for the last three months of this year alone, sexual abuse cases have been 35 percent higher than the same period last year.