Support clinics, safe houses and education initiatives established to support victims across the country in attempt to curb violence

Helen Davidson | The Gaurdian

Watch Papua New Guinea woman Mary tells Amnesty International how she was attacked and accused of witchcraft after the death of a child in her village in PNG's highlands region - short video.

Moves are already under way to address the epidemic of violence in Papua New Guinea, two months after an unprecedented commitment to establish support clinics and safe houses for victims across the country.

At a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) conference held Port Moresby last November, NGOs and representatives from 11 of the country’s 20 provinces committed to a network of support services to address what is considered among the highest rates of family and sexual violence in the world.

Work began almost immediately, with MSF providing short-term help to a family support centre at Maprik hospital.

“That’s given us a direct, hands-on sense of how things are developing there and that was one of the provinces that was at the conference,” said MSF head of mission, Paul Brockmann, who added that patient numbers were increasing with local awareness of services.

John Ericho, director of Eastern Highlands province NGO Family Voice, told Guardian Australia levels of awareness of violence issues were rising in his region, where sorcery beliefs were still influential. The organisation runs counselling referral and education programs.

“We go through the whole district visiting villages, churches and schools to raise awareness of family and sexual violence issues so people can help reduce the violence and work towards a solution and make their communities safe,” Ericho told Guardian Australia.

“Their eyes are opened and they say [they] never knew that these services were available,” he said.

“They did not know the police have the sexual offences section or the hospital has a section to deal with domestic violence issues.”

Family Voice will this week present a report to the PNG government on the results of the advice it received after its conference presentation on ending violence sparked by claims and accusations of sorcery.

“We need to define the issues very clearly before we can draft up legislation to address any of this. [Sorcery] is a culturally embedded issue and it’s not that easy to eliminate,” he said.

“It’s education. I am educated to a PhD level and I still believe in [sorcery]. So it’s not an easy thing to eliminate.

“People suspect sorcerers and they go after them and kill them – that’s only one part of it.

“Who made the initial allegation? Who was the first person to say, we’ll go and kill that person?”

Highlands resident Mary was attacked at her home by a gang of young men wielding machetes after a baby died in their village and locals suspected witchcraft. Mary was accused of killing the child.

“They came with bush knives, and they cut me,” she told Amnesty International.

“All seven boys had bush knives in their hand. I wanted to cry out but the blood was streaming down my face. Another boy attacked me from behind.”

Mary’s husband intervened and they fled the community.

“We have many children and in our village we had land for them to live on,” he said.

“But we escaped and cannot go back. Our lives would be at risk. Now we are struggling to provide for our children.”

Violence is still an enormous problem in PNG, with rates of physical and sexual abuse estimated to be among the highest in the world, but awareness campaigns are having an impact.

“People are now knowing about their rights and many people are learning to advocate and lobby,” Ruby Matane, chairperson of the East New Britain province branch of the Family and Sexual Violence Action Committee (FSVAC) told Guardian Australia.

“Many people are informed and many people are being reported because of the awareness that is being carried out.”

After the MSF conference, Matane used her position on the board of the district Nonga general hospital to secure an agreement in December for a family support clinic, funded by the hospital.

“The first quarter of this year we will have one of these wards renovated for it,” Matane told Guardian Australia.

The FSVAC has also pledged to increase the skills of local responders through training workshops, and to have four safe houses for victims of family and sexual violence built by 2017.

“Currently we don’t have any. I’m networking with all the previous community advocates that we trained and telling them so they can build small safe houses in their communities and it will be ready for us to have these district shelters,” she said.

MSF’s Brockmann said these advances were all encouraging so soon after the conference.

“I think it’s really the provincial level that’s most critical here,” he said.

“There may be some needs for funding and things but what I’ve heard from the national department of health is that generally the money is there, and it’s a matter of provinces implementing.”