A NATION IN CRISIS
Gender-based violence (GBV) levels are very high in Papua New Guinea (PNG), with almost two out of every three women in PNG expected to be subject to physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Violence takes many forms, and it often goes unpunished and unnoticed. This kind of abuse is considered normal in many communities which are strengthened by patriarchal rules and poor governing institutions. The situation is even worse in rural and remote areas. In regions with no proper police or social support, the victims are left stranded, and the perpetrators are out on the loose. Survivors encounter a lot of stigma, peer pressure, and financial dependency, which does not favour reporting or the escape from abusive relationships.
Recent surveys by the PNG National Statistics Office (2024) indicate that 65 percent of women aged 15-49 have experienced some form of GBV, with higher prevalence in the Highlands and Islands regions. This trend not only undermines the health and safety of women but also hampers economic development and social cohesion nationwide (PNG NSO, 2024).
THE IMPUNITY CULTURE
One of the most destructive barriers to eliminating GBV in PNG is the country’s struggle against endemic impunity. Survivors of domestic and sexual assault frequently encounter systemic indifference, corruption, and outright dismissal by authorities. It is reported by Human Rights Watch (2022) and UNDP (2021) that police officers frequently deny complaints, ask for bribes, or dismiss GBV as a private matter rather than treating it as a criminal offence. The result of such practices is the loss of faith in law enforcement agencies, exposing victims to more danger since they are discouraged from seeking help.
The law does little to eliminate this culture of impunity. In practice, very few cases make it before the courts, and an even smaller percentage may result in substantive convictions. Criminals often receive light sentences or are left to roam freely. As part of the customary practice, the interests of the family are given preference in place of prosecution. In these scenarios, victim interests are often suppressed in the name of maintaining order in the community or to uphold patriarchal control. This continuous lack of care contributes to repeated cases of mistreatment and the normalisation of physical abuse targeting women and girls.
In addition, research by the PNG Law Reform Commission (2023) highlights the challenge posed by the coexistence of formal legal systems and customary law, which often prioritises
PNG Government. (2013). Family Protection Act 2013. https://www.parliament.gov.pg/index.php/bills-and-legislation/view/family-protection-act-2013
UN Women. (2022). Ending violence against women in Papua New Guinea. https://www.unwomen.org
UNDP. (2021). Supporting survivor services in PNG. https://www.pg.undp.org
Human Rights Watch. (2022). Papua New : Gender-based violence, broken systems. https://www.hrw.org
reconciliation over punishment. This dual system complicates judicial processes and weakens protections for survivors. Calls for harmonisation of laws have been made but face resistance from traditional leaders who view customary approaches as essential to social order (PNG LRC, 2023).
SORCERY-RELATED VIOLENCE
Sorcery accusation-related violence (SARV) is one of the most imminently painful forms of GBV occurring in PNG. This violent manifestation is deeply ingrained in local beliefs and often occurs after mysterious diseases or deaths among a group of people. In case of malady or death, other socially isolated residents, widows, or older women can be singled out and falsely accused and violently targeted as sorcerers. The allegations of sorcery are prone to degenerate into community beatings, torture, and in other cases, execution.
The state has laws which criminalise violence associated with sorcery accusations, but these remain to be fully implemented. In most places where such incidents are prevalent, such as rural areas, police presence is limited and the trained officers are not always equipped with adequate resources, the capability or the desire to engage. Along with that, the attitudes of representatives of the communities and parts of the local government towards sorcery are grey as well; despite the phenomenon being acknowledged as mythical in nature, most people believe in its existence, and even more people directly or indirectly support the idea that violence should be used when necessary against people who allegedly practice sorcery. This dangerous intersection of misogyny, unchallenged acceptance of olden myths, and fostered impunity has continued to take lives and leave deep emotional shock and social dislocation in its wake throughout the Highlands region and beyond.
A recent report by Amnesty International (2024) documents at least 50 cases of SARV-related killings annually, predominantly targeting women. The report underscores the failure of local authorities to protect victims and calls for urgent community engagement initiatives to dismantle harmful beliefs tied to sorcery (Amnesty International, 2024).
GOVERNMENT INACTION AND INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE
Since the adoption of the Family Protection Act in PNG in 2013, the act has been implemented sparingly and inconsistently. The introduction of Family and Sexual Violence Units in the police stations has been marked by serious barriers, particularly, persistent deficiency of trained staff, insufficient and unreliable funding, and poor alignment with essential partners like medical care providers and legal aid programs. These units are usually underprepared with barely any capacity in rural districts, where the number of incidents is usually the highest.
While the government is not technically in denial about the existence of GBV and has recognised it as a national emergency, its response has lacked the urgency and seriousness the crisis demands. Despite its policy structure, there is a lack of political commitment and the provision of sufficient resources to deal with it. This inaction has garnered the condemnation of international human rights groups, partners in development, and advocates of reform, who have reiterated the priorities of the system itself: requiring a massive influx of funding towards survivor services, the overhaul of existing laws to bridge gaps in enforcement, and a strong system of data collection to monitor the outcome of the new intervention stages. Despite external pressure, substantial change continues to be hard to come by, and the frontline services are largely performed by overworked civil society groups of professionals.
Furthermore, the United Nations Women’s agency (UN Women, 2023) stresses that international aid commitments towards GBV in PNG remain fragmented and insufficiently coordinated, weakening their impact. The agency recommends a dedicated national task force to oversee donor funds and ensure alignment with PNG’s priorities and cultural contexts.
THE WAY FORWARD
Long-term and successful responses to GBV in PNG require a multi-sectoral, sustainable framework. Isolated interventions and reactive approaches are inept. The national strategy should be based on structural reform, community involvement and victim empowerment.
5.1 Legal and Institutional Reform
Preference should be given to the implementation of pre-existing laws, specifically the Family Protection Act. Criminal enactments that deal with GBV need to be reinforced, and the punishment of any and all crimes needs to be increased. Sensitisation of the law enforcement staff and judicial actors would need to be done comprehensively to ensure that victims are treated with dignity and respect, especially in rural areas where the traditional gender paradigm poses a challenge to the process in terms of judicial fairness. Judicial actors also have to provide institutions with adequate provisions and effective stewardship systems to facilitate accountability in carrying out these measures.
5.2 Survivor-Centred ServicesIn order to address the devastating impact of intimate partner violence on society, there is a dire need for the government to increase investment in the services offered to survivors, such as improving crisis centres, medical institutions, legal services, psychological help, and emergency shelters. Resources should be provided not only in metropolitan areas but also in rural and remote places where the rate of such violence is at its peak. The development of
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2021). Supporting survivor services in PNG. https://www.pg.undp.org
PNG Government. (2013). Family Protection Act 2013. http://www.paclii.org
UN Women. (2022). Ending violence against women in Papua New Guinea. https://www.unwomen.org
UNDP. (2021). Supporting survivor services in PNG. https://www.pg.undp.org
national referral pathways is critical in facilitating survivors to easily manoeuvre accessing services, starting with the first step of reporting for protection, recovery, and reintegration.
Recent pilot projects by local NGOs have demonstrated that mobile outreach clinics and telehealth counselling can effectively extend support to rural survivors. However, these initiatives require state funding and partnership to scale sustainably (PNG Women’s Coalition, 2023).
5.3 Community-based Education and Prevention
Initiating change in the prevailing cultural and societal perceptions that seem to justify violence is an essential step towards addressing the guiding factors of GBV. Harmful gender norms should be actively challenged and replaced by the virtues of equality, respect, and non-violence through community-based educational programs. These should actively include religious leaders, educators, traditional authorities and those with influence among the youth. At the same time, education plans should be updated by including thorough teaching about gender rights, proper relations, and dispute resolution.
5.4 Ending Impunity
It is important to break the cycle of violence with effective intervention. This requires the implementation of accountability measures against perpetrators regardless of their social or economic standing. To that end, the state should also establish clear accountability mechanisms to keep track of how the police and the courts are responsive to cases of GBV. The data concerning the progress of cases, the rates of prosecution, and the results of conviction should be gathered and made systematically available to the public through quantitative and qualitative datasets.
Moreover, informal justice systems that prioritise conciliation processes over formal legal mechanisms, especially when such conciliation compromises justice for the victim, ought to be reformed at least in places where their practices compromise the efficacy of formal judicial mitigation mechanisms. The end goal is, after all, justice for survivors and not to prioritise the interests of the perpetrators.
5.5 Leadership in Women and Empowerment in the Economy
Economic dependence is one of the core reasons why women might not leave a violent relationship. Therefore, government agencies and civil societies should devote funds to initiatives that expand access to educational opportunities, vocational training, women
Human Rights Watch. (2022). Papua New Guinea: Gender-based violence, broken systems. https://www.hrw.org
Jolly, M. (2019). Gender violence and human rights: Seeking justice in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu. In J. B. Weiner (Ed.), Gender in Oceania (pp. 145–162). ANU Press.
Forsyth, M. (2021). Sorcery accusation-related violence in PNG: Trends and responses. Development Policy Centre.
Amnesty International. (2023). It was like being in hell: Violence against women in PNG. https://www.amnesty.org
UN Women. (2022). Ending violence against women in Papua New Guinea.
entrepreneurship and microfinance. These efforts will not just bring financial independence, but also develop leadership skills within their communities. Further, the application of gender quota is of the essence to ensure that women are represented in decision-making bodies at every level, including at the village, national, and central administrative level.
5.6 International Collaboration
External actors, which include foreign national governments, international non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and multilateral organisations, play a central role in the fight against GBV. Financial support of a technical nature, observance, and safeguarding human rights, as well as development, should be linked to valid improvements in intensifying the protection and care levels of GBV survivors. The cooperation between countries can also reinforce the training efforts, provide stakeholders with specialised knowledge, and promote the transfer of the best practices in the region. Once national ambitions align with international efforts, PNG would be able to create a social environment where GBV will no longer be condoned, justified and overlooked.
The Pacific Islands Forum has recently endorsed a regional framework on GBV prevention, calling member states, including PNG, to adopt coordinated strategies to tackle violence against women and girls (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, 2024). This regional push is critical to sustaining momentum and pooling resources in a challenging geopolitical environment.
CONCLUSION
In PNG, GBV is one of the most acute and complicated human rights issues. It is driven by a cultural dogma, institutional dysfunction and judicial impunity. It is the lived experience of women and girls in their daily lives, which is characterised by constant exposure to violence and the lack of access to justice or protection, which is exacerbated by economic dependency, social stigma, and the ineffective response of the state and its inability to mobilise efforts.
The widespread culture of impunity has been highlighted by Human Rights Watch (2022) as a major barrier to justice in PNG. In many cases, someone commits a crime with no punishment, with police officers being known to either ignore complaints or accept bribes. The justice system fails to provide adequate accountability to the individual, and instead follows traditional reconciliation processes rather than formal prosecution, even in the most violent cases. Violence involving sorcery, especially in the Highlands area, is still being perpetrated disproportionally against women, involving torture and killings on the basis of unproven allegations, and frequently in public places without any government interference.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2021). Women’s economic empowerment in PNG. https://www.pg.undp.org
Pacific Women. (2020). Supporting women’s leadership in Papua New Guinea. https://pacificwomen.org
Human Rights Watch. (2022). Papua New Guinea: Gender-based violence, broken systems.
Amnesty International. (2023). It was like being in hell: Violence against women in PNG.
Inconsistent and under-resourced application, despite the promulgation of the Family Protection Act 2013, is due to the inadequate allocation of resources. Support services to the survivors are still poor, especially in the rural areas where there are minimal or no police at all. The lack of available crisis centres and legal and health services predisposes survivors to remain in isolation and at perpetual risk.
Cultural and entrenched patriarchal practices are central factors that form a key determinant in the occurrence of GBV. There are usually societal conditions where violence becomes a norm, where community leaders and community organisations fail to refute the existence of dangerous gender stereotypes. Additionally, the economic empowerment of women is lacking, which would also help them break free from cycles of violence, especially since most women do not have the monetary capacity and/or social liberation to evade dangers or self-rule.
The fight against this epidemic, however, needs domestic political determination together with prolonged international advocacy and support. GBV requires a multisectoral yet long-term approach to its mitigation, which involves law reform, round-the-clock support of victims, community-based education, economic empowerment, and a holistic implementation of the human rights norms and principles.
PNG is faced with a critical point. Moving forward, it must prioritise the following actions:
- Reinforcing pertinent domestic laws and seeing to it that those who commit GBV are held accountable.
- Ensuring comprehensive access to protection and support services for the survivors.
- Challenging and changing harmful social norms by corrective education and social mobilisation.
- The economic and political empowerment of women.
- Building up international cooperation to sponsor and observe substantive reforms.
Violence against women amounts to a deep human rights violation and a national crisis that threatens the social order, national health, and future growth and development in PNG. Eradication of this crisis will thus be a moral, legal and developmental imperative. It is only by ensuring a concerted effort in all sectors, namely governmental, local and international community, that the nation can come up with a safer and fair social order whereby the rights and dignity of each citizen are respected and defended, especially women and girls.
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