Family and sexual violence (FSV) and sorcery accusation-related violence (SARV), are significant development challenges in PNG that disproportionately affect women and girls. The impact of violence is compounded by the difficulty accessing the necessary services to break the cycle of violence.
FemiliPNG Australia supports Femili PNG’s Goroka Outpost, which connects survivors of FSV and SARV in the Eastern Highlands to survivor-centred integrated case management services; supporting access to medical, law and justice, vocational, and safe accommodation services.
Over the past year, 5,672 people attended 45 outreach sessions, conducted by the Goroka Outpost team (approximately 58 percent of attendees were women) to raise awareness of FSV and the support services available to the community. 124 clients have received a total of 1,933 services. Due to the complex nature of providing appropriate FSV and SARV support, clients may require multiple types of services; at times support is provided over months and years. Services available to clients include basic needs, counselling, legal advice and assistance, medical assistance, and transportation.
To ensure a ‘do no harm’ approach, the Goroka Outpost (and all other FPNG services) implement several key strategies. Firstly, case workers are trained in gender-sensitive case management, ensuring that they can recognise and respond to the specific needs of different genders without reinforcing harmful stereotypes. This year, 102 women (13 of these women live with a disability) accessed case management services from the FPNG Goroka Outpost.
Secondly, our case management centres adopt strict confidentiality protocols and survivor-centred practices, prioritising the safety and autonomy of those seeking help. We seek client feedback to identify and mitigate and unintended negative consequences, ensuring that the interventions did not inadvertently put survivors or their families at greater risk. This year, 11 survivors were interviewed to seek their feedback on their satisfaction with FPNG service providers. The average satisfaction with FPNG Goroka Outpost was 5.0 (out of 5).
Violence affects all of us, however, violence against women and girls is one of the most pervasive human rights violations in the world. Globally, one in three women will experience violence in their lifetime. In PNG, that rate increases to two in three.
While Goal 5: Gender Equality highlights gender equality; realising the rights of women and girls to live a life free from family and sexual violence is fundamental to achieving all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Sustainable Development Goals are interconnected, and in order to leave no one behind, our projects takes action on many of the goals. The Goroka Outpost project works towards many other intersecting SDGs including Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, and Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals. For example, a challenging area that the Goroka Outpost team work with is the complexity of Sorcery Accusation Related Violence (SARV) cases. Unlike Family Sexual Violence (FSV) cases, which typically involve one survivor and one perpetrator, SARV cases often involve multiple perpetrators or entire communities targeting a single family.
During the year, FemiliPNG Australia appointed a new Development Advisor who has supported the Goroka Outpost’s coordination of their referral network members. The efforts to build strong relationships within the referral network have paid off tremendously, allowing Femili PNG to facilitate case conferences involving multiple partners, including the Prosecutor’s Office, Family and Sexual Violence Unit Police, Homicide Officers, Village Court Magistrate, and Village Court Representatives (Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals). Persistent advocacy and coordination by Femili PNG ensured that cases received attention from appropriate legal and judicial bodies and that the perpetrators of the violence were held accountable (Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), whilst keeping survivors supported during the process.
FemiliPNG Australia acknowledges the valuable contribution of the Australian Government’s Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP) to the Goroka Outpost. FemiliPNG Australia has committed five years of ANCP funding to supporting the Outpost, 2023-2024 was the third year of the project.
We welcome your contribution to this important work. Please donate today! Every donation you make to this project will be combined with funding from the Australian Government to reach more people. We have committed to contribute $1 for every $5 we receive from the Australian government. Your donation will allow us to extend our impact in Goroka.