No protection, nowhere to go
Dear friend,
© AFP/Torsten Blackwood Josephine desperately needs a place to stay.
Brutally beaten and raped by her husband, and cruelly ostracised from her family after contracting HIV, there are only a handful of places in her hometown of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, where she can feel truly safe.
In a country with one of the highest rates of violence against women in the world, Josephine’s story is sickeningly too common. And the situation is even worse outside the capital, where violence in the home, gang rapes, knife attacks, beating and sexual abuse of girls, and torture and murder of female 'sorcerers' affect at least two-thirds of the female population.
Tell PNG's Prime Minister Michael Somare that we don’t consider pandemic rates of violence against women just another 'family matter' and nor are we prepared to let this appalling level of violence, torture and abuse continue unnoticed.
Prime Minister Somare has publicly called on husbands to stop the 'shameful' violence in his country, yet apologists for this appalling level of violence, including in government, continue to cling to excuses of culture, tradition and lack of resources. The reality is many women have come to see violence as 'normal', as have men, confident in the knowledge that the state will not act quickly, decisively or consistently against them.
In 2002 the Government introduced a law outlawing rape and sexual assault, but it simply hasn’t gone far enough in addressing extreme levels of violence, particularly in the family. Sign our petition to provide real resources to eliminate the causes of violence and tackle customary attitudes that reinforce women as property.
As Papua New Guinea’s nearest neighbour and largest bilateral aid donor, Australia must encourage the Government to listen to the women of their country and do more to stop the violence. Most of all, they need to eliminate the assurance of perpetrators that there will be no consequences for their unspeakable crimes.
In solidarity with the women of PNG,
Hannah Harborow
Stop Violence Against Women campaign
Amnesty International Australia
PS. Women human rights activists in Papua New Guinea have long been at the forefront of efforts to prevent violence against women. They do essential work offering shelter, counselling, or legal advice to survivors of violence, with little or no support from the government. Click here to support them.
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