Violence

Leader of the church in Papua New Guinea, Pastor Kepsie Elodo, made the call in light of increasing media reports of violence against women and children, especially girls.

“We, the Seventh-Day Adventist church, speak up and join with others to bring an end to violence against women and girls,” Pr Elodo said.

He added that global statistics indicated that in all societies, women and girls were more frequently the victims of violence.

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.

Senior Magistrate, Albert Daniels, said: “If you are a dad, I want you to know that if your daughter has seen you violently behaving towards her mum, she doesn’t trust you anymore to look after her.

“If your son has seen you violent towards his mum, he has experienced trauma too, it will show when he grows into an adult and follows your example. So think about how your actions today will affect the future,” he said.

Disgruntled elements damaged properties during an electorate wide peace reconciliation program.

Chairman William Gogl Onguglo claims the destruction was carried out by supporters of the former Member for Kundiawa-Gembogl.

“What was more irresponsible was the burning of public properties, paid for by public funds for the people of the electorate.

The activation event, led by the National Department of Education and hosted by Jubilee Catholic Secondary School (JCSS) in Port Moresby, is facilitated by UNICEF as part of lead-up activities to the launch of the global campaign that will take place in January 2019.

“Youth engagement is at the heart of this activation. We want to solicit young people’s input to create a global outcry that violence should not be an everyday lesson,” UNICEF Representative, David Mcloughlin said.

A confrontation between the army and members of the public ensued in Port Moresby over the weekend.

The tensions were a result of a car accident involving some soldiers, which escalated after they were attacked by the public, resulting in one soldier being hospitalised and another succumbing to his injuries on Saturday night.

In a statement, PM O’Neill said: “Any dispute should be settled by relevant legal authorities, and under no circumstances should groups take the law into their own hands.

It is calling on authorities to undertake prompt and effective investigations into the matter.

“A free, uncensored and unhindered media is the cornerstone of a democratic society, and we stand against violence against the media, in any form,” said UN Resident Coordinator in PNG, Gianluca Rampolla.

“The media should be able to operate without fear or favour, and enjoy media freedom as a basic human right as enshrined in the Constitution of Papua New Guinea and the International Human Rights Conventions which PNG has ratified.”

These pastors are currently in a press conference today in Port Moresby, spelling out the roots of this evil practice and how churches can fight it.

Chairman of Body of Christ, Pastor Joseph Walters says sorcery is a spiritual belief, therefore it must be addressed spiritually.

All pastors are adamant to form a united front to go into spiritual warfare to fight the practice of sorcery and sorcery related accusations and violence.

The Lae-based NGO runs a Case Management Centre (CMC) to assist survivors of family and sexual violence access the services they need.

Since commencing operation in 2014, Femili PNG has been collecting data on their clients and their needs.   

A report covering the first two years of their operations was released last Friday, December 15.

The report shows that Femili PNG assisted over 900 people; 93 percent were female and 18 percent were children.