Page 32 - IB March 2025

International Women’s Day

PNG NEEDS TO END

“HORRIFYING VIOLENCE”

A staggering 3.414 million Papua New Guinea women may Kaiwi is now raising Kennedy’s children.
experience intimate partner violence this year, according to “I apologise to the mothers, aunties, sisters, and the
statistics provided by the country’s National Gender-Based women of Papua New Guinea for the actions of my young
Violence (GBV) Secretariat this month. grandson, who is now behind bars for his crime.”
They are women like 29-year-old Lina Numbalihi, who was Meanwhile at the Commission for the Status of Women
allegedly tortured to death by her husband, who is a member (CSW) meeting in New York this month, PNG’s Minister
of the PNG Defence Force. She was a mother of two, and at for Community Development, Youth and Religion, Jason
the time of writing, her husband was still at large. The PNG Peter, acknowledged that three decades after the Beijing
Post Courier newspaper reported National Capital District Declaration, the issues facing PNG’s women were the same.
Assistant Police Commissioner Ben Turi as describing the case “The challenges we pointed out three decades ago in
as “one of the most brutal” he had ever encountered. Beijing—such as the unacceptable high level of gender-based
Numbalihi’s death was followed by the abduction, rape and violence, limited political participation, inadequate access to
murder of another woman from a Port Moresby housing estate education and healthcare, and economic marginalisation—are
by a group of men. ongoing, compounded further by new and emerging issues,”
That crime prompted Prime Minister James Marape to say, Peter said.
“No woman, no child, and no citizen should endure such He told the CSW that a recently established Bipartisan
horrifying violence.” Permanent Parliamentary Committee on Gender Equality and
He continued, “This is not just an attack on one individual; Women’s Empowerment will provide legislative oversight and
it is an attack on our collective humanity.” accountability for addressing violence against women.
“We are proactively strengthening policy implementation
A chronic problem under the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to
Bel isi, a PNG civil society organisation that works Gender-Based Violence (2016-2025) and to fully operationalize
to eliminate violence against women and runs a case the National GBV Secretariat. This includes educating our men
management centre and safe house in the capital city, said it and boys to change their mindset and attitudes to become
was appalled by the deaths. champions for women and girls’ issues,” he said.
“The escalating prevalence of family and sexual violence, The 2025 International Women’s Day theme is ‘Accelerate
gender-based violence and sorcery accusation-related Action’.
violence is at crisis point, and we cannot turn away,” Bel isi In PNG’s parliament, Member for Madang, Bryan Kramer,
said in a recent statement. was critical of the government’s approach to GBV to date,
“We urge the implementation of stronger legal protections, claiming there was a lack of accountability and leadership,
prosecution of perpetrators, more accessible support systems and saying a concrete action plan was needed.
for survivors, and the creation of awareness programs that “We are here to give speeches that mean nothing,” he
challenge harmful gender norms and attitudes.” opined.
In March this year, PNG’s parliament heard a debate on He warned that without a clear strategy, the same
gender-based violence. discussions would recur annually.
Again, Prime Minister Marape spoke on the issue. “We are going to come back next year to talk about the
“I just want to say to all our mothers, to all our women, same thing because we don’t have a plan,” he asserted.
and all out daughters of Papua New Guinea – we are sorry, we He further criticised the lack of internal accountability,
are sorry! stating, “We don’t hold our colleagues and family members
“To the relatives of the deceased, to the daughters who accountable to start with.”
have passed on, and to those who grieve today, I just want to While GBV against Papua New Guinean women and girls is
say, we are sorry and we seek your forgiveness.” accelerating, it remains to be seen how effective the actions
Jiwaka Provincial Member Simon Kaiwi also took the floor discussed in parliament and in UN meeting rooms will be in
during the debate, and apologised for the actions of his ending this generational tragedy.
grandson, Bhosip Kaiwi, who murdered Jenelyn Kennedy in
2020. Parliamentary reporting by the PNG Post Courier.

32 Islands Business, March 2025