STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN PNG
MANY VOICES: ONE MESSAGESTOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN PNGACTIVIST TOOLKIT(OCT 2009 – MAR 2010)1
CONTENTSINTRODUCTIONp. 3VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN PNGp. 4WHAT WE WANTp. 5 - 6KEY MESSAGESp. 7WHAT YOU CAN DOp. 8 - 9RESOURCESp. 10HOW TO USE THIS TOOLKITThis toolkit contains backgroundinformation and actions to take to endviolence against women in Papua NewGuinea (PNG).It is only an inspiration and a starting pointfor activism, so we encourage you to beas creative or bold in your activism as youlike!This Activist Toolkit is valid from October2009 to end of March 2010, including for16 Days of Activism Against GenderViolence (2009) and InternationalWomen’s Day (2010).Image: (front page) A vegetable vendor waits for customers Tuesday on the island of New Britian, Papua New Guinea AP Photo/DavidLongstreath. (this page) The Goroka Show 2009 where groups from many parts of Papua New Guinea come to celebrate their unique culturalsongs, dances, and customary dress. Michael Johnson2
MANY VOICES, ONE MESSAGESTOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN PNGQUICK FACTSCapital city: Port MoresbyOfficial languages: English,Tok Pisin, Hiri MotuPopulation size: 6.6 millionCurrent Prime Minister: SirMichael SomareAverage Life Expectancy: 55yearsLiteracy rate: 61.2% (men),50.9% (women)Women attending an Amnestyhuman rights training session,Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea,2005. AIINTRODUCTIONAs our nearest geographical neighbour,Papua New Guinea (PNG) comprises theeastern half of the island of New Guineaand approximately 600 other islands. Witha population of around 6.6 million, PNG isthe largest country in the South Pacific,both in terms of land area and populationsize.government services, including educationand health care. In fact, the largest serviceprovider in Papua New Guinea is not theState, but the Christian Church.It is difficult to generalise about the peopleand culture of PNG. Over 800 languagesare spoken and traditions and customsvary greatly across the country. Its bordersencompass varied and rugged terrain andthe majority of the country is not accessibleby road.Crime and lawlessness is perhaps the mosthighly publicised problem facing PNG andit has earned the country a costlyreputation for being unsafe for travel andinvestment. Although reliable crimestatistics are not available, there is littledoubt that PNG faces an epidemic ofserious violent crime, which includes armedrobbery, murder, gang rape, homeinvasion, tribal fighting, election-relatedviolence and violence relating to resourcedevelopment projects.85% of Papua New Guineans live in ruralareas, subsisting on agriculture, forestryand fishing. They have little contact with oraccess to the police or the formal justicesystem and are largely beyond the reach ofFraud, corruption and “white collar crime”are also prevalent in PNG and underminethe ability of relevant State institutions toaddress the country’s violent crimeproblem. Transparency International hasranked PNG 151 of 180 on its corruptionscale.PNG is currently ranked 148 out of 182countries listed in the United NationsDevelopment Programme’s (UNDP) humandevelopment index, and is the lowestranked of any South Pacific country.The Government of PNG is aParliamentary Democracy. Politics in PNGremains highly male dominated with onlyone female MP (Dame Carol Kidu)currently elected out of 109 MPs. Only fourwomen have ever been elected to PNG’snational Parliament in the 34 years sinceindependence and the picture is similar atprovincial, district and community levels.Women continue to find it hard to havetheir voices heard within decision-makingbodies and Parliament is a prime example.3
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN PNGViolence against women in PNG is pervasive and widespread. Research conducted by theSecretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), UN Agencies and AusAID indicates that therates of violence against women in the Pacific region are among the highest in the world.For the past five years of AmnestyInternational’s Stop Violence AgainstWomen campaign, we have advocated forwomen’s right to live free from violence.greatly compounds the situation forwomen.Violence against women is one of the mostwidespread human rights violations – inwar or peace, at home or in public, and atthe hands of the State, family or strangers,women experience gender-based violence.Violence against women cuts across allcultures, classes, ages and sexual identity.And in PNG, it’s no different.In 1995, PNG ratified the Convention onthe Elimination of All Forms ofDiscrimination Against Women (CEDAW).The statistics and stories may be shocking.However, this only paints part of thepicture. The patriarchal culture in PNG, aselsewhere, means that violence againstwomen is a key way to maintain women’sinequality. Violence against women isintimately connected to other customswhich maintains women’s subordinatestatus – such as polygamy and bride price– and which strengthen men’s belief thatthey ‘own’ their wives. Women also facemany different types of violence – violenceby their husbands and family, rape andgang rape, sexual violence by police, ‘payback’ violence against women as part oftribal fighting and ‘sorcery’-related killings.Yet, instead of offering tangible solutions toviolence against women, the PNGGovernment continues to do little, with itstendency to dwell on difficulties and a lackof resources meaning little has changed forwomen since the first research into theissue was conducted 20 years ago. Inaddition, while the formal justice system onthe whole promises equality, protection andredress, in practice it is remote,inaccessible, and ineffective andcomplacency by law enforcement officialsSMALL STEPS IN THE RIGHTDIRECTION While states that have signed up to theconvention are required to submit aprogress report to the UN CEDAWCommittee one year after ratification andevery four years after that, PNG onlyrecently submitted its first report (acombined First, Second and Third report).This is a positive step and demonstratesthat the government is ready to have itsprogress on women’s rights and eliminatingviolence against women examined in aninternational forum.In response to PNG’s submission, AmnestyInternational has submitted a ‘shadow’report to the CEDAW Committee, focusingspecifically on the state of violence againstwomen in PNG. (After a governmentsubmits its report to a treaty monitoringbody, many NGOs often submit a ‘shadowreport’ outlining what they believe thatgovernment has overlooked or incorrectlyrepresented.) For a copy of AmnestyInternational’s submission, see yourCommunity Campaigner.The Government of PNG is due to appearbefore CEDAW in July 2010 to presenttheir report and answer questions abouttheir progress.Another positive step is that at the annualPacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting,held in August this year in Cairns, PacificIsland leaders committed for the first timein 40 years to eradicate sexual and genderbased violence. This was a hugerecognition of the need for action at thehighest level to end violence againstwomen, and a huge milestone for womenwho have been campaigning on the issuefor many decades.SOME STATISTICSTwo decades ago, PNG led the way in theregion in identifying and documenting violenceagainst women. The statistics above reflect theresearch conducted at the time. While thisinformation may now seem dated, more recentinterviews conducted by Amnesty Internationalas part of a research trip revealed that rates ofviolence are unlikely to have decreased andsome women’s organisations fear they mayhave risen.§ 67% of wives had been beaten by theirhusbands (national average). (PNG LawReform Commission 1992)§ Close to 100% of wives in the Highlandsexperienced violence by their husbands, buthalf that for Oro and New Ireland provinces.(PNG Law Reform Commission 1992)§ In urban areas, 1 of every 6 womeninterviewed needed treatment for injuriescaused by their husbands. (PNG Law ReformCommission 1992)§ 55% of women had been forced into sexagainst their will. (PNG Institute of MedicalResearch 1994)§ 60% of men interviewed reported havingparticipated in lainap (gang rape) at least once.(PNG Institute of Medical Research 1994)More info - AusAID’s 2008 report, Violence against women inMelanesia and East f/vawcs full report.pdf)- Amnesty International’s 2006 report, PNG: ViolenceAgainst Women: Not Inevitable, Never /ASA34/002/2006)4
WHAT WE WANTAmnesty International is calling on the Government of PNG to make a formal commitmentwhen it appears before the CEDAW Committee in July 2010 to end violence against womenthrough law reform and greater provision of services, including safe houses.Amnesty International is caling on theGovernment of PNG to formally commit to:§ dedicating financial and other support toorganisations currently providingemergency accommodation to womenand children fleeing family violence.§ announcing publically the amount offunding committed towards safe housesand to establish a transparent processfor accessing these funds.§ introducing and enforcing specificdomestic violence legislation.WHY WILL THIS MAKE ADIFFERENCE?After the Government of PNG appearsbefore the CEDAW Committee, theCommittee will release its ConcludingObservations which includesrecommendations on what PNG should do.These recommendations will put PNGunder international scrutiny to make thesechanges. They will also be used bywomen’s rights activists and NGOs to lobbythe Government.Amnesty International believes that as asmaller country, PNG will be moresusceptible to international pressure by theUN. PNG has also demonstrated opennessto the process by finally submitting theirreport which was long overdue. Making aformal commitment in front of the CEDAWCommittee will make it more difficult to‘back pedal’ later and will boost thegovernment’s political will.THIS WORKS!THE EXAMPLE OF FIJIAfter nearly eight years of lobbying byNGOs, Fiji's women's rights activistswere able to take advantage of theCEDAW reporting process to get thelong-stalled Family Law Bill passedby the country's Parliament. Bydocumenting the bill's necessity intheir shadow report, they were able togarner the Committee’s support for anew law. The Committee then madethis clear in their dialogue with the FijiGovernment delegation in January2002, as well as in their ConcludingObservations. The new Family LawAct heralds in a new era for Fijifamilies – women and children inparticular – by removing systemicdiscrimination against women andputting children at the centre ofcustody and child support decisions.International Women's Dayevent involving an AmnestyInternational speaker, women'shuman rights activists and thecommunity of Porebada (avillage near Port Moresby); acanoe race was held where theStop Violence against Womencanoe was launched. AI5
WHY WOULD TAKING ACTION INAUSTRALIA MAKE A DIFFERENCEIN PNG?We have a strong historical relationshipAustralia and PNG have a strong historicalrelationship, with Australia administeringthe territories of Papua and New Guinea formuch of last century until PNG gained fullindependence in 1975. Australia remainsaccountable to ensuring peace anddevelopment in PNG – both which areseriously impeded by the current rates ofviolence against women.We are a major donorAustralia is PNG’s largest bilateral aiddonor, and our government has welldeveloped close ties with PNGcounterparts in government and the lawand justice sector.TIMELINEThe momentum is buildingAt the Pacific Islands Forum LeadersMeeting in Cairns this year, Pacific Islandleaders made a commitment to endviolence against women. This commitmentwas made at a regional forum anddemonstrated an increased political willthat we should leverage.International solidarity goes a long wayDemonstrating solidarity with women’srights activists can go a long way in PNG.In our direct work with PNG women’sactivists, women have been greatlyappreciative and motivated throughAmnesty International’s attention andsupport.Little country, big influenceDue to PNG’s relatively small size andlesser political power on a global scale,international criticism and pressure from anorganisation such as Amnesty Internationalcan have a greater impact.WOMEN’S RIGHTS DEFENDERS:GOING STRONG IN PNGPNG women’s rights activists have been campaigning for decades for thegovernment to take action on violence against women. In 2007, women’s rightsactivists presented a petition with over 6000 signatures to the government calling fora proactive approach to ending violence against women.Amnesty International has been in contact with women’s rights defenders in PNGand is working to support their efforts. For more information on women’s rightsactivists in PNG see 006.2006- Launched Amnesty International’s report,Papua New Guinea – Violence AgainstWomen: Not inevitable, never acceptable!- Launched a campaign digest, Papua NewGuinea - Women Human Rights Defendersin Action.- Released an appeal for women humanrights defender, Anna Benny, whodisappeared in late 2005.- Amnesty International sponsors a ‘StopViolence Against Women’ canoe andparticipates in a local canoe race.2007- Amnesty International Australia’s StopViolence Against Women CampaignCoordinator visits PNG, meets withwomen’s rights activists and survivors ofgender-based violence.2008- Amnesty International speaks at a humanrights forum in PNG on violence againstwomen.2009- Lobbying around the annual PacificIslands Forum Leaders Meeting.- During the Pacific Island Forum LeadersMeeting, Amnesty International participatedin a side event attended by officials and rana media briefing for journalists covering theevent.- The Amnesty International Health Teamhave recently returned from a research tripto PNG and are expecting to launch areport on HIV/AIDS in early 2010.International Women's Day event involving anAmnesty International speaker, women's humanrights activists and the community of Porebada (avillage near Port Moresby); a canoe race was heldwhere the Stop Violence against Women canoe waslaunched. Amnesty International6
KEY MESSAGES§ Violence against women in PNG is widespread and pervasive§ The Government of PNG has a responsibility to take action to combatand prevent violence against women, and to live up to the internationalhuman rights obligations it has committed to.§ Amnesty International is calling on the Government of PNG to commit to:- law reform – to introduce specific domestic violence legislation- to increase the provision of services, such as safe houses§ Sign the petition!7
WHAT YOU CAN DOTWO ACTIONS TO TAKE1. Sign the petition – get as many signatures as possible!2. Write a letterSIGN THE PETITIONGet as many signatures for the petition as possible!Here are some ideas:§ Hold a stallDecorate the stall with materials that will grab people’sattention (eg. placards, banners, colour). Be proactive aboutapproaching passers-by instead of waiting for them to comeup to you.TIPS- Give people who seem interested more to do.For example, give them the flyer and ask them towrite a letter. Or invite them to the next event in yourAction Centre. Interested people have the potentialto become new Amnesty activists, so give themsomething to come back to us for!- Ask people to write legibly – we lose manypotential new members by not being able to readtheir handwriting.- Suggest to people who take a flyer to pass itonto a friend and ask their friend to take action too.§ Make some noiseCollaborate with drummers or musicians from PNG.Organise to walk around your capital city or town centre witha drummer from PNG, asking the people who you pass tosign the petition.§ Make it visualConstruct something visual to represent what we arecampaigning for, such as a safe house or reclaiming somepublic space as ‘violence free’. Remember to keep in mindthat we are campaigning for PNG so we need to make ourideas culturally appropriate.§ Go to where the people areGo to where large numbers of people already are and passaround the petition. Is there a charity movie screeningplanned? A forum on ending violence against women? Canyou pass the petition around your lecture theatre? Is there afestival on?§ Spread the petition onlineThe petition is also available online atwww.amnesty.org.au/svaw. Email the link to your friends.Post it to your Facebook, MySpace or Twitter page. Orinclude the website address as part of your email signature.WHERE WILL THE PETITIONS GO?REMEMBER!Return all petitions to your CommunityCampaigner by 31 March 2010.Amnesty International will present the petitions toPrime Minister Somare before the Government ofPNG appears before the CEDAW Committee inJuly 2010.8
WHAT YOU CAN DOWRITE A LETTERSend an urgent letter to the Prime Minister of PNG, Sir Michael Somare, calling on the Government to:§§§§commit financial and other support to organisations currently providing emergency accommodation to women and children fleeing familyviolence.announce publically the amount of funding committed towards safe houses and to establish a transparent process for accessing thesefunds.introduce and enforce specific domestic violence legislation.formally commit to the above three points when reporting on steps taken by the Government to end discrimination and violence againstwomen at the 46th Session of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in July 2010.The Right Honourable Grand Chief Sir Michael SomarePrime MinisterP.O.Box 639WaiganiNational Capital DistrictPapua New GuineaFax: 0011 (675) 327 7328 / (675) 327 6630Salutation: Dear Prime MinisterIMPORTANT!Remember to let us know how many letters you write to thePNG Government. It’s important for us to know the impactwe are having and to see if the letter-writing is working. Thiswill also help us create more effective campaigns in thefuture. Contact your Community Campaigner or send yournumbers to activism@amnesty.org.au.Two women and a baby watch as a helicoptertakes off after leaving supplies at their makeshift village in northern Papua New Guineaafter a tsunami AP Photo/Rick Rycroft9
RESOURCESStop Violence Against Women in PNG PetitionMany voices: One message DL size FlyerPlacards (x 8)Many voices: One message BannerAmnesty International 2006 reportPapua New Guinea -- Violence against women: Not inevitable, never ASA34/002/2006WHAT’S NEXT?In early 2010, Amnesty International will launch a reporton HIV/AIDS in PNG. In 2002, AIDS/HIV was declared tobe a generalised epidemic in PNG, meaning that thewhole population is at risk. The report will focusparticularly on the major obstacles created by genderinequality and gender-based violence, and the political,criminal justice and law enforcement sectors’ failure toensure justice for women and adequately address the riskof HIV/AIDS.Women human rights activists in PNG campaign digestPapua New Guinea - Women Human Rights Defenders in /004/2006CONTACT DETAILSAppeal case for Anna 005/2006ACT/Southern NSWSuite 8, Level 1134 Bunda StreetCivic, ACT02 6202 n Territory80 South TerranceAdelaide, SA08 8110 8100sant@amnesty.org.auNSWLevel 1, 79 Myrtle StreetChippendale, NSW02 8396 7670nswaia@amnesty.org.auTasmania1st Floor, 130 MacquarieStreetHobart, TAS03 6221 1000tasaia@amnesty.org.auQueensland/Northern NSWLevel 1, 354 Brunswick StFortitude Valley, QLD07 3136 6400qldaia@amnesty.org.auWestern AustraliaSuite 70, City West CentrePlaistowe MewsWest Perth08 9476 4800waaia@amnesty.org.auAmnesty International Press ReleasePacific leaders pledge to end violence against /PNG’s report to CEDAWReport on the Status of Women in Papua New Guinea and the AutonomousRegion of Bougainville 2008http://www.un.or
Violence against women in PNG is pervasive and widespread. Research conducted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), UN Agencies and AusAID indicates that the rates of violence against women in the Pacific region are among the highest in the world. For the past five years of Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against
Complex (Brac) STOP 7. Babson Commons and Horn Library STOP 8. Reynolds Campus Center STOP 9. Hollister Hall STOP 10. Weissman Foundry STOP 11. Athletic Fields STOP 2 7 STOP 4 STOP STOP 8 STOP 9 Public Safety Check-In STOP 3 STOP 6 STOP 11 1220ENRLMKT1-1418 0 125 250 500 Fe
The Stop Violence Against Women campaign Amnesty International’s global campaign to Stop Violence against Women was launched on International Women’s Day in March 2004. the campaign focuses on identifying and exposing acts of violence in the home, and in conflict and post-conflict situations globally. It calls on governments,
Preventing men's violence against women Men's violence against women occurs across all levels of society, in all communities and across cultures. While not all men perpetrate violence against women, all men can - and ideally should - be part of ending men's violence against women. Women have been leading
Violence against Women; and most recently in the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals 2030. The United Nations' Declaration defines violence against women as: 'all acts of gender-based violence that result in, or are likely to result in, physical, sexual, psychological, or economic harm or suffering to women, including threats of
The funding available for new STOP 1 year projects is estimated at 896,797. There are two types of 2021/2022 STOP grants available: 1. STOP Violence Against Women Grant ( 655,932 available) a. Projects must meet all STOP requirements and address at least one purpose area. 2. STOP Sexual Assault Set-Aside ( 240,865 available) a.
Relationships POLICY Introduction 3 1. Statistics Canada (2006). Measuring Violence Against Women: Statistical Trends 2006 . p. 33. 2. Statistics Canada (2006). Measuring Violence Against Women: Statistical Trends 2006 . pp. 16, 55. Setting the Context Dy na m i cs of et V l In domestic violence situations, violence is commonly used by one .
The purpose of the Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015 ("the Act") is to improve prevention, protection and support for people affected by violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence, and we are making good progress on implementation.
APS 240 Interlude Ð Writing Scientific Reports Page 5 subspecies of an organism (e.g. Calopteryx splendens xanthostoma ) then the sub-species name (xanthostoma ) is formatted the same way as the species name. In the passage above you will notice that the name of the damselfly is followed by a name: ÔLinnaeusÕ. This is the authority, the name of the taxonomist responsible for naming the .
