Report - Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights

Case study 2 – rural women migrating to urban areas (East New Britain)
Indigenous women from regional areas move to Rabaul (urban area) to find employment, to sell
vegetables, to get services not available in rural areas or to come to hospital. But <strong>the</strong>re is no shortterm
accommodation, and only poor and insecure long term shelter. They are vulnerable to rape and
violence and forced to befriend o<strong>the</strong>rs to get shelter. Women have no choices – <strong>the</strong>re are no shelters,
crisis centres and only limited access to welfare services. Women going to hospital have to seek shelter
anywhere before <strong>the</strong>y can find transport to return to <strong>the</strong>ir communities.
A woman and child left home to come and seek health services from a big hospital in town. This woman
left her remote community because she was transferred from local authorities to <strong>the</strong> hospital because
<strong>the</strong> disease could not be attended to in <strong>the</strong> rural health centres. She stayed in hospital and <strong>the</strong>n had
to return home by boat. She had no money to return so asked to live with her relatives, who were an
hour away from hospital. She was raped by people <strong>of</strong> her own tribe.
The people in town have integrated with many cultures i.e. attitudes towards each o<strong>the</strong>r have changed.
They are living in a society that has been occupied by plantations, where plantation workers were
brought as slaves from all over PNG during <strong>the</strong> colonial times. So <strong>the</strong>y don’t have respect for indigenous
people from remote areas, who have not integrated with o<strong>the</strong>r cultures.
A woman living in a house that was 3 meters above <strong>the</strong> ground. She had to jump from a high post
to a high building when she was four months pregnant, and had to run away. She was raped in front
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> family she was staying with.
Elements – Lack <strong>of</strong> housing, security and affordability (in both cases).
In rural areas – lease <strong>of</strong> land 500kina/hectare, security <strong>of</strong> tenure, public goods and services, accessibility,
environmental natural resources.
Sources – PNG Constitution (i.e. IHD, equality and participation); Welfare Act (protects <strong>the</strong> rights <strong>of</strong>
women and children); Beijing Platform for Action (1995).
Guarantees – PNG Constitution (equality /participation provisions).
Overriding principles – Non-discrimination – women have a lower status and lower value, especially
women who are poor and illiterate.
Causes/Obstacles –
– The government’s priorities are in development and economic gain, but not in provision <strong>of</strong> basic
services for rural communities;
– Lack <strong>of</strong> housing policies to accommodate rural populations moving into town to access health
services;
– Lack <strong>of</strong> information on land tenure within urban areas;
– Lack <strong>of</strong> security in land systems in o<strong>the</strong>r parts <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> province means that more land is in threat
<strong>of</strong> being extended for oil palms;
– Lack <strong>of</strong> information on land tenure systems in rural areas;
– Lack <strong>of</strong> information in rural areas on options for rental accommodation in urban centres.
206 WOMEN’S RIGHTS TO ADEQUATE HOUSEING AND LAND