More and more Papua New Guineans are saying “no” to violence against women – and they are speaking with their actions as well as their words.
Just days after hundreds of people rallied at Parliament House to support more action to address family and sexual violence, Port Moresby can expect a huge win with the comprehensive upgrade of a local Port Moresby safe house.
The upgrade is also a win for partnership. Last year the public private initiative Bel isi PNG (peaceful PNG) alongside Oil Search Foundation raised over K400,000 to support urgent infrastructure repairs for local safe houses.
Safe house services are an important part of helping survivors of family and sexual violence by providing them with refuge from a violent situation. But safe houses struggle with funding, which makes it difficult to provide the level of service that survivors require and deserve.
Many individuals and companies contributed to raising funds, including Newcrest, Oil Search staff, Pacific Helicopters, Atlas Steel and many others. This is in addition to the many private sector companies including BSP, Oil Search, Brian Bell and Steamships that support Bel isi PNG and the generous support from the Australian government in partnership with the Government of Papua New Guinea.
(Bel isi walk against gender based violence last year which raised K400,000)