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

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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.
122 v i o l e n c e a g a i n s t w o m e n i n m e l a n e s i a a n d e a s t t i m o r Invest in capacity development for organisations providing critical support services. Numerous organisations and individuals are providing ‘counselling’ or other support services in cases of violence against women in ways that can exacerbate the problem and increase women’s exposure to violence. Competency-based training is urgently required to develop specific skills to address cases of violence against women and children. A standardised and accredited program of training could target professional and lay counsellors; health workers, including staff at Stop Violence Centres; clergy and pastoral workers; VCT counsellors; social workers; community development workers; welfare officers (government and private sector); youth workers; school guidance officers; and peace mediators. Assess the effectiveness of justice-sector actors and initiatives, such as village courts, community justice training, peace mediation training (through Peace Foundation Melanesia), community policing, and the restorative justice approach generally, in addressing women’s needs, improving gender parity, addressing potential backlash and promoting human rights. This requires the application of a gender lens to the key concepts and underlying values and field research to understand the processes affecting, and potentially distorting, implementation, as well as the development of clear monitoring criteria and procedures. Create a focus on preventing violence against women and girls through support to the education sector. Existing procedures to prevent and respond to sexual harassment of students and staff, to train guidance counsellors, and to conduct safety audits of facilities continue to be poorly implemented. The capacity of the District Women’s Education Facilitators system to address violence against women requires strengthening. This would enable more effective advocacy in schools and communities. The most glaring gap at present, however, is the dearth of core curriculum materials explicitly promoting the right of women and girls to be free of gender violence, and teacher training to facilitate both the appropriate use of materials and the ability of teachers to identify and provide support to students experiencing or at risk of violence, whether at school or in the home. This will become increasingly necessary as more students lose one or both parents to AIDS-related illnesses. Support political empowerment of women at the national, provincial and community levels, drawing on the positive experience in East Timor. Support economic empowerment of women through equality in land rights, property and inheritance rights, and income-generating opportunities, while incorporating education around violence against women and gender relations in all relevant empowerment interventions to minimise short-term spikes in violence against women.
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