Gender-based violence (GBV)

The newly-developed community resources come in the form of flip charts and safety cards.

They are the end product of a series of consultations between Consultative Implementation & Monitoring Council-Family Sexual Violence Action Committee (CIMC-FSVAC), partners and stakeholders including the Department for Justice and Attorney General (DJAG) and Justice Services and Stability for Development (JSS4D).

This resource is called the survivor advocate toolkit and will help the advocate assist survivors of FSV through accessing support and justice / legal service.

The PM was speaking in reference to a question raised by the East Sepik Governor Allan Bird highlighting the need for parliament to be more proactive on the agenda of gender-based violence and abuse in the country.

The Prime Minister made reference to laws and acts already in place that are designed to give protection to women, children and the most vulnerable in our society.

The PM however noted that it is the implementation of these laws which is a concern.

The NRL VAV initiative aims to assist the rugby league community to ‘stand up’ ‘speak out’ and ‘take action’ to prevent violence against women and children.

The announcement follows a highly successful Rugby League World Cup, which saw the USA Hawks compete against the Kumuls in Port Moresby.

Ambassador of the United States to PNG, Her Excellency Catherine Ebert-Gray, said this is the first time the US State Department has partnered with rugby league and spoke of the passion PNG has for it.

Serah Chapau, Oxfam in Papua New Guinea’s program manager, made the statement in anticipation of the launching of a new campaign tomorrow in Port Moresby.

The ‘Inap Nau! Laikim na lukautim femili’ campaign aims to create safe and peaceful communities by reducing violence against women and girls.

“We dream of a future where all women and girls can feel safe and secure in their own homes,” says Chapau.

December 10 is Human Rights Day, annually celebrated across the world.

Governor Parkop is calling on the public to recognise this and make a stand, particularly to end violence in the country.

“We have not seriously addressed this issue (violence) in the past and I think the consequences are there for us to see, it’s affecting the economy, investment and the quality of life,” he said.

This was revealed by the regional manager for the National AIDS Council Secretariat, Valentine Tangoh.

He said violent men tend to have multiple sexual partners and do not often use condoms.

“Gender-based violence is a major driver of HIV in women. It affects the ability of women and girls to protect themselves from HIV or prevent unintended pregnancies or access HIV preventing services,” said Tangoh.

He stated that the traditional perception of masculinity enables and openly encourages men to dominate sexual decision-making.

This recent discovery was made during a post mortem carried out on Thursday, 02^nd of November, at the Port Moresby General Hospital.

Police homicide say this may now prove to be a lead into their suspicions regarding the death of the woman, whose body was found suspended from a ceiling at Lawes Road in the early hours of Saturday, Oct 28.

This message was stressed during Sunday’s walk for life, which was dedicated to one of such campaigns.

Leading by example was the Governor for NCD, Powes Parkop, a big advocate on this issue.

He was joined by Police Minister Jelta Wong and the Minister for Religion, Youth & Community Development, Soroi Eoe.

Parkop said mostly men were perpetrators. This makes GBV a man’s problem to take on.

However, they still lack the voice on a national platform, says Anna Solomon, secretary for Religion, Youth and Community Development 

Solomon said ending violence was important for the benefit of the children.

“Focus on children now,” she said.

“Mothers, stand strong…we have a right to a safe home and the children have a right to a healthy mother,” she added.

She noted too many school fights, systems and alcohol abuse affecting the whole nation.

National Capital District Governor, Powes Parkop, says this following the frequency of the issue and the horrific states reported.

The country has been in denial for too long, he continues.

As a wakeup call, the Walk for Life today was used as a campaign against violence.

Governor Parkop believes everyone should stand up against this.

“By remaining silent, being indifferent, not taking action, being in denial, we are risking our economy, the quality of life of our people. We need to stand up and make a difference.”