National GBV Strategy
Violence against women and girls is a human rights violation. In 1980, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (“CEDAW”) was signed by 189 countries, including Papua New Guinea.
The 1993 UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women defined violence against women as, “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.”
The 2010 CEDAW report on Papua New Guinea’s interventions to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women outlined numerous concerns, including that the Constitution of PNG does not include sex as a prohibited ground, thereby allowing for lawful discrimination on the grounds of sex or gender.
In 2015, the elimination of violence against women and girls in public and in private was adopted as a target for the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality and in 2020 UN Secretary General Antonio Gutterres called for global action to address the “horrifying global surge in domestic violence” linked to lockdowns imposed by governments responding to COVID-19.
The Government of PNG (GoPNG) has highlighted the importance of addressing GBV and Family and Sexual Violence (FSV) by making it a priority area for intervention in its PNG Vision 2050, the 2010-2030 Development Strategic Plan (DSP) and the Medium Term Development Plan III (2018-2022).
In order to address the issue in a more strategic and coordinated manner, the GoPNG established the National Family Sexual Violence Action Committee (FSVAC) in 2002 as part of the Consultative Implementation and Monitoring Council (CIMC), an entity answerable to the Department for National Planning and Monitoring.
Early in 2014, the Department for Community Development and the FSVAC joined forces to gauge the best way forward in terms of enhancing ownership, sustainability and impact. Their collaboration resulted in the development of the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to GBV (2016-2025). The National GBV Strategy is underpinned by the understanding that addressing GBV will require strong leadership, a holistic and coordinated approach supported by ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and research.
National GBV Strategy
Addressing gender inequality and violence against women and girls in PNG, is critical to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, and the economic and social future of the country. The Government has developed the Papua New Guinea National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender Based Violence (2016-2025), which is intended to prioritise and coordinate efforts to address GBV across the country.
The National GBV Strategy is supported by a National GBV Implementation Plan (2016-2025). The National GBV Secretariat is mandated to drive, coordinate and oversee implementation of the National GBV Strategy.
Sorcery Accusation Related Violence (SARV) National Action Plan
The Sorcery National Action Plan (2015) provides a basis for national and provincial-level responses to sorcery accusation-related violence. While SARV affects men and women, in some parts of the country it is mainly women and their children who are being accused and tortured.
