ABC News Correspondents Report

EMILY BOURKE: Domestic violence is a tragic reality for many women in Papua New Guinea, a reality that is largely left unquestioned by the broader community.

 But the shocking case of a woman who's been repeatedly abused by her policeman husband has caused uproar. 

People have turned to social media, a recent phenomenon in PNG, to express their outrage and to demand police action.



PNG correspondent Liam Fox reports.



LIAM FOX: An often-quoted statistic in PNG is that two thirds of women have been victims of domestic violence.

But it's an issue that is rarely discussed in public. That changed this week.



EFFREY DADEMO: I think it's just mere frustration. It's come to a point where really nothing has been done about violence against women and children in general and right now people are outraged by the situation with Joy.



LIAM FOX: Effrey Dademo is from the advocacy group Act Now!

She's also an administrator of a Facebook group that was set up this week called PAPUA NEW GUINEANS AGAINST DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. In just a few days it's attracted nearly 5,000 members, that's nearly 10 per cent of all Facebook users in PNG. 



The situation she's referring to is that of Joy Wartovo. The mother of two went public late last year with a harrowing tale of years of abuse at the hands of her policeman husband, Simon Bernard.

 A photo in the Post-Courier newspaper at the time showed her nursing broken fingers caused by hammer blows and burns from an iron. 

Soon afterwards Bernard was dismissed from the police force and charged with assault.

 The story faded until this week when Ms Wartovo was hospitalized with multiple stab wounds, allegedly inflicted by her husband.



It turned out that Bernard had not been prosecuted for the earlier assault and was even being protected by former colleagues in the police.

 Effrey Dademo from Act Now! says it's prompted women to turn to social media to speak out against domestic violence.



EFFREY DADEMO: Most of those people on the page are women who have been victims at one point in time. Because the page was set up and inspired by the situation that Joy has gone through, I think that kind of gave it a personal touch and people kind of related to the issue.



LIAM FOX: Many men have also joined the Facebook group.

One even urged others to shave their hair and beards as a sign of opposition to domestic violence. 

The metropolitan superintendent Joseph Tondop says the public outcry has put pressure on police to find Simon Bernard.

But the pressure doesn't seem to have translated into vigorous action.



JOSEPH TONDOP: We have invited him to come to the police station but he has refused and chooses to be on the run so as we speak he's still on the run. We actually picked him up two or three weeks ago. Police were interviewing him, he just walked out and then disappeared.



LIAM FOX: At the very least Effrey Dademo hopes the discussion that's been sparked by Ms Wartovo's plight will help change attitudes towards domestic violence.



EFFREY DADEMO: When you see a husband beating up a partner the usual response they give is that, oh, she's my wife, I married her and a paid bride price so I can treat her the way I want. And we're really hoping that men, especially in PNG, will rise up and take this campaign forward and try to change the mentality of other men.



EMILY BOURKE: Effrey Dademo from the advocacy group Act Now! ending Liam Fox's report.

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