National Gender Based Violence (GBV) Enquiry – Private Sector’s Contribution

Photos courtesy of PNG Special Parliamentary Committee on Gender Based Violence Facebook page.

On the 24th of May, a special Parliamentary Committee on Gender Based Violence (GBV) held an Enquiry to assess the situation of GBV service provision in Papua New Guinea.

Supported by both the United Nations and European Union, the National GBV Parliamentary Committee was made up of Milne Bay Governor, Charles Able; East Sepik Governor, Allan Bird; National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop; and Deputy Opposition Leader, Dr Allan Marat.  

Bel isi PNG was invited by the Committee to share what was being done to address family and sexual violence in the private sector. The Bel isi PNG Program Manager, Ms Danielle Winfrey, provided the Committee with a summary on the work being done under Bel isi PNG. The challenges faced in the referral of cases within a resource-challenged setting was also addressed.

The increasing cases of child abuse was also raised as a serious concern and for relevant government agencies to be held accountable. The Program Manager highlighted the disconnect between the Family Protection Act and Lukautim Pikinini Act which created loopholes in accessing justice and protection for survivors. Service providers both in government and the non-government sectors provided information on challenges and what could be done to address those challenges.

The Committee made a request to the Minister of Treasury, Hon. Ian Ling Stuckey, to allocate K10million to support the implementation of the National Gender Based Violence Strategy to address gender-based violence/family sexual violence.

A report from the Enquiry was presented at the parliament sitting on the 12th of August 2021 to raise the issue of gender-based violence and lobby support for more funding in the sector.