Report exposes widespread violence that touches the lives of most women, and a 'culture of complicity'

Helen Davidson in The Guardian

Research into Papua New Guinea's epidemic of domestic and sexual violence has found few women or children are unaffected by abuse and that education is the biggest challenge in ending a "culture of complicity".

More than half of all rape victims who go to hospital are aged under 16. One in four is under 12, and one in 10 is under eight, Childund Australia's report Family and Sexual Violence in Papua New Guinea says.

An interview with the manager of Port Moresby women's shelter, Haus Ruth, found about 60% of children who came to the shelter with their mothers had also been abused.

The report drew together data from NGOs and UN and government agencies, and from ChildFund's own field research in the low-lying central province and Port Moresby. It found violence was as much a problem in lower-lying areas as in the more traditionally violent regionsof the highlands and urban Port Moresby.

"Our research found that pretty much every woman interviewed has had an instance of violence or abuse against her," ChildFund's chief executive, Nigel Spence, told Guardian Australia.

Amanda had been abused by her husband for years before she read a pamphlet which told her his actions were illegal. The next time he attacked her, Amanda went to the police and her husband was arrested and imprisoned to await trial, but because she could not afford $10 for a medical certificate that would be evidence of her injuries, his case was dismissed, she said.

A protection order against him was delayed in the system and Amanda was forced back home, where she said he accused her of adultery and continued to beat her over three consecutive days with a rubber hose and a long screwdriver.

"He was continually punching my face. He said he would make me paralysed. I was really injured," Amanda said.

"When he bashed me up he didn't leave me alone. He had sexual penetration with me again, without my consent. I was really in pain. When I said no, he said, 'I am going to bash you up.' He had sexual penetration with me again."

When Amanda's husband sent her to work her boss allowed her to go to hospital, where she received treatment and the important medical certificate. Amanda told ChildFund she was more confident now, and hoped she could encourage other women to come forward.

"I feel proud to tell the other ladies, 'There is the law to protect us,'" she said.

ChildFund's research found many cases like Amanda's, where women – and men – were not aware that the abuse was illegal. Even when they did, many women found no recourse through the legal system, due to the low number and standard of courts in regional areas.

To give women access to support and care they need, ChildFund is setting up a mobile health clinic and a nationwide health and safety hotline. The hotline will make use of the increasing mobile technology in developing nations, including PNG.

"We want to make use of the new technology that's becoming available to women and give them access to a hotline," Spence said.

"We want to establish a health and safety hotline to receive calls from women who have been assaulted or exposed to violence and to give them immediate advice, counselling and referral where possible."

The illegality of abuse is not widely known. ChildFund's report told the story of a local magistrate who did not know it was against the law to beat his wife until he began reading a law and order book for his job. The magistrate now hears domestic violence cases in his court and told ChildFund: "Man hitting the woman is a big wrong."

"One of the central problems is that so many men see it as OK, see it as normal, see it as acceptable to act abusively towards women, and we've got to change that," Spence said.

He said there was a "culture of complicity around violence" in PNG, and that educating men and youths about the consequences of abuse and alternative ways of resolving conflict was one of biggest challenges.

A widespread education program of men and boys is the third major undertaking ChildFund will begin this year. This will begin in central province - where the research took place.

ChildFund has launched a donation appeal. Spence said the findings of its report – while bleak – showed a movement for change that needed to be harnessed.

"The attitudes and behaviours of some men have already positively shifted," he said, "so it is important that we partner with communities and strengthen local services to really bring about significant, long-term change."

Watch the video - www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/aug/12/png-violence-against-women-video