Physical and sexual abuse is still a common issue affecting children in Papua New Guinea.
Non-government organisation (NGO) Save the Children in Papua New Guinea (SCiPNG) has done a report on child abuse, highlighting the different child protection systems in PNG.
The report has reviewed all of the research that has been done on the different forms of child abuse.
Country Director for SCiPNG, Jennifer El-sibai, said there is a need for child protection services to be accessible to children in the rural areas, in order to address the issue.
“The review of all the research done tells us that physical and sexual abuse is still a really big issue in PNG and it’s the sort of abuse that we know most about,” said El-sibai.
“Children don’t really have a voice in anything that affects them.
“A lot of decision gets made for children without even asking them and understanding what it is that they want, or what they think is best for them.”
She explained that children should have a voice in those decisions that affect them.
Children often have a smart voice but a lot of times, we do not give them the opportunity to be heard.