Violence against women in Melanesia and East Timor - Office of ...

papua new guinea country supplement 121
Australia is well positioned to play a supporting role in this endeavour by
systematically integrating into its PNG program, work and strategies to reduce
violence against women through human rights and gender-sensitive approaches.
7.2 Specific recommendations for all Papua New Guinea actors
Support the development of a government-led national plan of action. This is one
of the recommendations of the UN Secretary General’s Report on Violence against
Women 2006. The Government of PNG’s decision to endorse the FSVAC’s new
national strategy is positive. Through the use of participatory processes across PNG
Government departments, the new FSVAC strategy provides a basis to strengthen
government ownership and leadership on the issue. The next challenge is to translate
this new strategy into a Government-led national plan of action to address violence
against women.
Conduct national research using the World Health Organization’s methodology (WHO
2005). PNG’s statistics on violence against women derive from research that is 15 to
25 years old. In 2006, the National Research Institute conducted a survey of domestic
violence, but the results (not yet available) will not readily allow comparisons with
other countries because the methodology chosen was the original one pioneered by
the LRC rather than the state-of-the art methodology developed and recommended
by WHO. National research using this methodology has been carried out in Samoa,
is being undertaken in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, and is planned for Fiji. It
would be highly desirable to carry out a similar study in PNG.
Strengthen the enabling environment. Advocacy and activism on violence against
women are more likely to succeed where there is open public discourse on gender and
human rights, where leaders are sensitised to women’s human rights, where women
can participate effectively in decision-making bodies, where there is an active civil
society, and where there are independent institutions for investigating human-rights
complaints. Action on all these fronts would be highly beneficial.
Cultivate high-level male champions on violence against women within the public and
private sectors. This is particularly important in the public sector, as the only female
minister is too overstretched to effectively carry this agenda alone. The current Police
Commissioner is one clear example of a motivated and highly influential champion
who, with access to technical support, could make faster progress on his agenda for
violence against women.
Develop community-level male champions on violence against women based on
Vanuatu’s Male Advocates Programme, targeting traditional leaders such as village court
magistrates, peace officers and community police. It may be feasible to envision this as
a joint enterprise between Australia’s LJSP and the Sport for Development and Peace
Initiative, to encourage cross-generational communication and prepare future leaders.