DESKTOP RESEARCH
Two-thirds of women in Papua New
Guinea suffer domestic abuse – how
can it be stopped?
Development 2030
Working in development
The global goals aim to acheive gender equality but in a country where 67% per cent of
women suffer from domestic abuse, men must be part of the solution
Charlotte Lytton
Wed 16 Dec 2015 15.15 GMTLast modified on Fri 6 Oct 2017 13.14 BST
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A victim of domestic violence shows her head wound patched up with tape in a women’s shelter
in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Photograph: David Gray/Reuters/Corbis
When the UN introduced the millennium development goals (MDGs) in 2000, its third
pledge – to promote gender equality and empower women – promised to herald
worldwide reform. But 15 years later, and with 67% of women in the country suffering
domestic abuse, progress in Papua New Guinea has been far slower than hoped.
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Though scant wide-scale studies have been undertaken, statistics show that more than
half of women there have been raped. Reports have estimated that 60% of men had
participated in gang rape at least once, while in certain Highland provinces the rate of
violence against women was 100%.
Educating men on the importance of gender equality is a key way development workers
hope the sustainable development goals (SDGs) will differ from their predecessors. The
fifth goal, which makes the same promise to “achieve gender equality and empower all
women and girls”, states that violence against women must be eradicated and that
harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation can have no
place in any society.
The continued absence of men from this conversation, however, is stark. “The new goals
might have a better chance of succeeding, but there needs to be some initiatives around
men. You can’t have gender equality without working with men, and I would have
thought that lesson would have been learnt by now,” says Adam Everill, founder of
sport-based anti-violence initiative Equal Playing Field. “Violence against women has
been seated as a women’s problem for so long, and so has gender equality – it’s really
bizarre to me. Men have to be part of the solution.”
Though expanding the horizons of gender equality initiatives might help, outreach
workers remain concerned that – just as the MDGs for equality proved ineffectual in
bringing down rates of violence – the global goals may suffer a similar fate.
You can’t have gender equality without working with men
Adam Everill
“Domestic violence is endemic, and is not taken seriously by the government,” says Judy
Atkinson, patron of the We Al-li Trust, which provides health and trauma outreach
workshops across Papua New Guinea and Australia. “Violence against women seems to
be rising [yet] it is the NGOs and aid agencies who are focused on issues of women’s
equality and empowerment, with little clear direction coming from the government.”
Many had hoped that the 2013 family protection bill criminalising domestic violence
would signal a renewed political system committed to fighting anti-female abuse, but no
further action has been introduced and rates remain unchanged.
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Janet Bulumaris Rangou and other women join a protest against gender-based violence
in Papua New Guinea. The Haus Krai protest was organised by Sydney’s Women Arise
movement. Photograph: Jennifer-Ann Pfeifer/Demotix/Corbis
“It’s going to be a real struggle for my country to achieve these goals. They’re wonderful
to have, but we need political will,” explains Philma Kelegai, who co-founded women’s
advocacy group the Leniata Legacy after the brutal murder of Kepari Leniata in 2013.
The 20-year-old was accused of sanguma(or sorcery) – a major cause of gender-based
violence in Papua New Guinea – and was publicly tortured and burned to death on a pile
of tyres in Mount Hagen.
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“There’s a lot of conversation, but it hasn’t trickled down into actual change yet,” Kelegai
says. “The attitudes are still the same – they’re very much entrenched. Unless we change
these mindsets, we won’t get anywhere.”
The government’s prioritisation of resources has also raised concerns that provisions
suggested by the SDGs will be not be adequately funded. Willie Doaemo of community
development programme Seeds Theatre Group cites the Pacific Games – hosted this
year in Port Moresby – as a prime example of its misplaced financial considerations.
“While world-class sporting arenas spring up in Papua New Guinea’s capital to impress
the world, the rest of the country is dying in vast numbers because of a lack of attention
by those in control,” he says, adding that such gestures “question where our priorities lie
as a nation”.
Catherine Bedford, a Londoner who has spent the last 18 months volunteering with VSO
as a family and sexual violence nurse at Modilon general hospital in Madang province,
says that the paucity of these provisions is always in view. Bedford frequently treats
women who have had fingers and limbs severed, who have received head injuries from
stones or pieces of wood, as well as victims who have been raped during gang initiation
ceremonies.
“Papua New Guinea is a very rich country in terms of access to money and natural
resources. But often that money is not spent in a way that is productive for most
people,” she says. “In Modilon hospital, we often have blackouts where there’s no power
and no water. Running hospital systems when you’re working with blood and trying to
keep things clean and people free from more infections than they came in with is very
difficult.”
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sexism in Brazil
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With a lack of joined-up thinking around the UN’s development initiatives, it remains to
be seen whether the SDGs will jumpstart the focus on equality that has been lacking for
so long.
“Empowerment and equality don’t stand alone. They exist through the grace of equal
educational opportunities, the provision of adequate health services, the protection of
the weak and vulnerable in society, and justice and law reforms,” says Doaemo. “There
is good work being done here but the there is still a long way to go. We are only at the tip
of the iceberg.”
Join our community of development professionals and humanitarians.
Follow@GuardianGDP on Twitter.
"Growth opportunities could be missed if the gender imbalance is not tackled.
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imbalance on women.
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Andrea Den Boer, an expert on gender imbalance in Asian internal migration from the UK's University of
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NECC director of policy Ross Smith said: "Growth opportunities could be missed if the gender
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Adding that such gender imbalance had to be brought to an end by creating the ambition of competition.
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The suit has shined a light on gender imbalance in the technology and venture capital sectors and led
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Eetta Prince-Gibson, former editor-in-chief of The jerusalem Report, reports on the everyday impact of
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Violence against women
29 November 2017
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‫ال عرب ية‬
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Key facts
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Violence against women – particularly intimate partner violence and sexual violence – is a
major public health problem and a violation of women's human rights.
Global estimates published by WHO indicate that about 1 in 3 (35%) of women worldwide
have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner
sexual violence in their lifetime.
Most of this violence is intimate partner violence. Worldwide, almost one third (30%) of
women who have been in a relationship report that they have experienced some form of
physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner in their lifetime.
Globally, as many as 38% of murders of women are committed by a male intimate
partner.
Violence can negatively affect women’s physical, mental, sexual, and reproductive health,
and may increase the risk of acquiring HIV in some settings.
Men are more likely to perpetrate violence if they have low education, a history of child
maltreatment, exposure to domestic violence against their mothers, harmful use of alcohol,
unequal gender norms including attitudes accepting of violence, and a sense of entitlement
over women.
Women are more likely to experience intimate partner violence if they have low education,
exposure to mothers being abused by a partner, abuse during childhood, and attitudes
accepting violence, male privilege, and women’s subordinate status.
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There is evidence that advocacy and empowerment counselling interventions, as well as
home visitation are promising in preventing or reducing intimate partner violence against
women.
Situations of conflict, post conflict and displacement may exacerbate existing violence, such
as by intimate partners, as well as and non-partner sexual violence, and may also lead to
new forms of violence against women.
Introduction
The United Nations defines violence against women as "any act of gender-based
violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or
suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of
liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life." (1)
Intimate partner violence refers to behaviour by an intimate partner or ex-partner that
causes physical, sexual or psychological harm, including physical aggression, sexual
coercion, psychological abuse and controlling behaviours.
Sexual violence is "any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, or other act directed
against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their
relationship to the victim, in any setting. It includes rape, defined as the physically
forced or otherwise coerced penetration of the vulva or anus with a penis, other body
part or object."
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World report on violence and health
Scope of the problem
Population-level surveys based on reports from victims provide the most accurate
estimates of the prevalence of intimate partner violence and sexual violence. A 2013
analysis conduct by WHO with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
and the South Africa Medical Research Council, used existing data from over 80
countries and found that worldwide, 1 in 3, or 35%, of women have experienced
physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner or non-partner sexual
violence (3).
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Global and regional estimates of violence against women
Almost one third (30%) of all women who have been in a relationship have experienced
physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner. The prevalence estimates of
intimate partner violence range from 23.2% in high-income countries and 24.6% in the
WHO Western Pacific region to 37% in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region, and
37.7% in the WHO South-East Asia region.
Globally as many as 38% of all murders of women are committed by intimate partners.
In addition to intimate partner violence, globally 7% of women report having been
sexually assaulted by someone other than a partner, although data for non-partner
sexual violence are more limited. Intimate partner and sexual violence are mostly
perpetrated by men against women.
Risk factors
Factors associated with intimate partner and sexual violence occur at individual, family,
community and wider society levels. Some are associated with being a perpetrator of
violence, some are associated with experiencing violence and some are associated with
both.
Risk factors for both intimate partner and sexual violence include:
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lower levels of education (perpetration of sexual violence and experience of sexual violence);
a history of exposure to child maltreatment (perpetration and experience);
witnessing family violence (perpetration and experience);
antisocial personality disorder (perpetration);
harmful use of alcohol (perpetration and experience);
having multiple partners or suspected by their partners of infidelity (perpetration);
attitudes that condone violence (perpetration);
community norms that privilege or ascribe higher status to men and lower status to women; and
low levels of women’s access to paid employment.
Factors specifically associated with intimate partner violence include:
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past history of violence
marital discord and dissatisfaction
difficulties in communicating between partners
male controlling behaviors towards their partners.
Factors specifically associated with sexual violence perpetration include:
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beliefs in family honour and sexual purity
ideologies of male sexual entitlement
weak legal sanctions for sexual violence.
Gender inequality and norms on the acceptability of violence against women are a root
cause of violence against women.
Health consequences
Intimate partner (physical, sexual and emotional) and sexual violence cause serious
short- and long-term physical, mental, sexual and reproductive health problems for
women. They also affect their children, and lead to high social and economic costs for
women, their families and societies. Such violence can:
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Have fatal outcomes like homicide or suicide.
Lead to injuries, with 42% of women who experience intimate partner violence reporting an
injury as a consequence of this violence.
Lead to unintended pregnancies, induced abortions, gynaecological problems, and sexually
transmitted infections, including HIV. The 2013 analysis found that women who had been
physically or sexually abused were 1.5 times more likely to have a sexually transmitted infection
and, in some regions, HIV, compared to women who had not experienced partner violence. They
are also twice as likely to have an abortion.
Intimate partner violence in pregnancy also increases the likelihood of miscarriage, stillbirth,
pre-term delivery and low birth weight babies. The same 2013 study showed that women who
experienced intimate partner violence were 16% more likely to suffer a miscarriage and 41%
more likely to have a pre-term birth.
These forms of violence can lead to depression, post-traumatic stress and other anxiety
disorders, sleep difficulties, eating disorders, and suicide attempts. The 2013 analysis found that
women who have experienced intimate partner violence were almost twice as likely to
experience depression and problem drinking.
Health effects can also include headaches, back pain, abdominal pain, gastrointestinal disorders,
limited mobility and poor overall health.
Sexual violence, particularly during childhood, can lead to increased smoking, drug and alcohol
misuse, and risky sexual behaviours in later life. It is also associated with perpetration of
violence (for males) and being a victim of violence (for females).
Impact on children
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Children who grow up in families where there is violence may suffer a range of behavioural and
emotional disturbances. These can also be associated with perpetrating or experiencing violence
later in life.
Intimate partner violence has also been associated with higher rates of infant and child mortality
and morbidity (through, for example diarrhoeal disease or malnutrition).
Social and economic costs
The social and economic costs of intimate partner and sexual violence are enormous
and have ripple effects throughout society. Women may suffer isolation, inability to
work, loss of wages, lack of participation in regular activities and limited ability to care
for themselves and their children.
Prevention and response
There are a growing number of well-designed studies looking at the effectiveness of
prevention and response programmes. More resources are needed to strengthen the
prevention of and response to intimate partner and sexual violence, including primary
prevention – stopping it from happening in the first place.
There is some evidence from high-income countries that advocacy and counselling
interventions to improve access to services for survivors of intimate partner violence are
effective in reducing such violence. Home visitation programmes involving health worker
outreach by trained nurses also show promise in reducing intimate partner violence.
However, these have yet to be assessed for use in resource-poor settings.
In low resource settings, prevention strategies that have been shown to be promising
include: those that empower women economically and socially through a combination of
microfinance and skills training related to gender equality; that promote communication
and relationship skills within couples and communities; that reduce access to, and
harmful use of alcohol; transform harmful gender and social norms through community
mobilization and group-based participatory education with women and men to generate
critical reflections about unequal gender and power relationships.
To achieve lasting change, it is important to enact and enforce legislation and develop
and implement policies that promote gender equality by:
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ending discrimination against women in marriage, divorce and custody laws
ending discrimination in inheritance laws and ownership of assets
improving women’s access to paid employment
developing and resourcing national plans and policies to address violence against women.
While preventing and responding to violence against women requires a multi-sectoral
approach, the health sector has an important role to play. The health sector can:
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Advocate to make violence against women unacceptable and for such violence to be addressed
as a public health problem.
Provide comprehensive services, sensitize and train health care providers in responding to the
needs of survivors holistically and empathetically.
Prevent recurrence of violence through early identification of women and children who are
experiencing violence and providing appropriate referral and support
Promote egalitarian gender norms as part of life skills and comprehensive sexuality education
curricula taught to young people.
Generate evidence on what works and on the magnitude of the problem by carrying out
population-based surveys, or including violence against women in population-based
demographic and health surveys, as well as in surveillance and health information systems.
WHO response
At the World Health Assembly in May 2016, Member States endorsed a global plan of
action on strengthening the role of the health systems in addressing interpersonal
violence, in particular against women and girls and against children.
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Global plan of action to strengthen the role of the health system within a national multisectoral
response to address interpersonal violence, in particular against women and girls, and against
children
WHO, in collaboration with partners, is:
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Building the evidence base on the size and nature of violence against women in different settings
and supporting countries' efforts to document and measure this violence and its consequences,
including improving the methods for measuring violence against women in the context of
monitoring for the Sustainable Development Goals. This is central to understanding the
magnitude and nature of the problem and to initiating action in countries and globally.
Strengthening research and capacity to assess interventions to address partner violence.
Undertaking interventions research to test and identify effective health sector interventions to
address violence against women.
Developing guidelines and implementation tools for strengthening the health sector response to
intimate partner and sexual violence and synthesizing evidence on what works to prevent such
violence.
Supporting countries and partners to implement the global plan of action on violence by:
Collaborating with international agencies and organizations to reduce and eliminate violence
globally through initiatives such as the Sexual Violence Research Initiative, Together for Girls,
the Violence Against Women Working Group of the International Federation of ObstetricianGynecologists (FIGO) and the UN Joint Programme on Essential Services Package for Women
Subject to Violence