Gender-based violence (GBV)

The policeman, Constable Andy Kaivi, was arrested and charged under Section 20 of the Family Protection Act after his wife, who is also a policewoman, reported that he had been constantly harassing, abusing, threatening and assaulting her.

Kaivi was alleged to have assaulted his wife on December 7 last year at about 7am at the Red Sea Police barracks at Bomana.

Police allege Kaivi, aged 34 from Wosera-Gawi, East Sepik Province, committed this offence whilst he was under the influence of alcohol.

An emotional Bau Sabadi shared with media how he learnt of his daughter’s passing.

“It was hard for me. I felt lost because on the 24^th (November) I was with her. She called me, we shared some kaikai and she gave me some bus fare.

“I left her at 1 o’clock. The next day 25^th, when I heard that she had died, I couldn’t believe it. It was hard for me. But I had to come to the hospital. I confirmed that it was her.”

Sabadi, a policeman by profession, is a Men of Honour awardee.

In a statement released on December 4^th (yesterday), Minister Soroi Eoe said violence against women and girls is a grave violation of human rights and can be classified as a criminal offence based on the seriousness of the incident.

“But there is room to put an end if we all join our hands and voices together by addressing its root causes,” he stated.

Susan Setae made the call following the tragic death of 26-year-old Central woman, Grace Gavera, who was allegedly beaten to death by her boyfriend.

Gavera, who worked at the Accounts section of the Education Department, was rushed to the Port Moresby General Hospital last week after sustaining injuries from an alleged beating.

According to police reports, her boyfriend, from Hela Province, allegedly followed her there and took her out of the hospital, where he allegedly continued to assault her until she died.

Andy Paro was apprehended on November 28^th at around 10.25pm at the Erima Settlement in the National Capital District.

Paro, who hails from Hetani Village, Koroba/Kopiago in the Hela Province, was alleged to have assaulted his 26-year-old girlfriend at Erima in the early hours of November 26^th.

Gavera, who worked at the Accounts section of the Education Department, rented a place at Erima. According to the landlord, Paro came at around 2am on November 26^th and began arguing with her and allegedly started beating her.

News of the brutal killing of Central woman, Grace Gavera, who was an employee of the Education Department, went viral on social media, after she was allegedly beaten to death at Erima on Saturday by her partner.

Dr Kombra said it was unfortunate that the Department is observing the 16 Days of Activism Against ‘Gender Based Violence and Human Rights Campaign’, which runs from November 25 to December 10, when this hideous incident took place.

This was the message from the Secretary for Community Development and Religion, Anna Solomon.

Secretary Solomon was speaking during the opening of the inaugural disciplinary forces’ wives friendly games.

She said the topic of gender-based violence usually dominates women’s conversations, where it is perceived that a man shows his love by assaulting his partner.

“That is bull****. That’s not true,” she said.

The Secretary outlined that attitude problems, including cultural and religious differences, were some of the factors behind this issue.

This follows a four-day Male Advocacy Training program from April 3-6 which 15 male public servants participated in, to better understand the role they can play in addressing this pressing issue.

Jack Wale, database manager and business analyst at the Internal Revenue Commission, said the training helped him see the importance of the role of men in addressing gender issues.

“At the Internal Revenue Commission we are trying to make the workplace safe and secure for our female staff,” Wale said.

29-year-old Josie Kikoli, who is attached with the downtown Port Moresby Family Sexual Violence Unit, last week bravely spoke of her ordeal where she suffered a nasty beating that left her unconscious and badly wounded.

The 29-year-old police officer almost lost her life when her ex-partner and father of her 18-month-old daughter beat her up three weeks ago.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police Operations, Jim Andrews, revealed there is a huge disparity between cases reported and convictions made.

Andrews says most cases do not run their full course because the victims withdraw them, adding that in most cases, the offender is often the main provider so the victim has no choice.

The DCP says there is a real need to give them that option that whatever level of support they are getting from the offender, this should be continued by the State through the trial and beyond.