This is the 2018 report on Human Rights by the U.S. Department of State published on March 13, 2019.Malawi is a multiparty democracy. Constitutional power is shared between the president and the 193 National Assembly members. International observers characterized the 2014 elections for president, parliament, and local councils as free, transparent, and credible.Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the security forces.Human rights issues included extrajudicial killings; torture; arbitrary detention, the preceding abuses all committed by official security forces; harsh and life-threatening prison and detention center conditions; criminal libel; corruption; lack of investigation and enforcement involving cases of violence against women, including rape and domestic violence, partly due to weak enforcement; criminalization of same-sex sexual conduct; and child labor, including worst forms.In some cases the government took steps to prosecute officials who committed abuses, but impunity remained a problem.