MOST of the governmental departments and agencies that have presented before the recently concluded two day Special Parliamentary Inquiry into Gender Based Violence (GBV) have not shown any evidence of a better collective and administrative data and statistics concerning GBV when questioned by the Committee.
Gender Advisor for the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Dr. Fiona Hukula while presenting before the Committee on Monday (May 24) made mentioned that the only two sectors that have seen to produce accurate data needed to address GBV in the country is the Department of Health and the Police Department.
“It is understood that the issue itself needed a collective effort from all different sectors of the government and other agencies to produce data as this would help in the policy and decision making.
“Having a better collection of administrative data from all the different agencies would be a priority to ensure policies and decision makers within the government are being responded to accurately to addressing GBV as well as other related violence in the country,” she said.
Dr. Hukula also recommends that apart from the financial commitment by the government towards addressing the agenda, the government must also ensure that they have the right people qualified to work in the GBV space, given the difficulty of the task.
“I would love to see that we have home grown initiative, something that we drive ourselves that is contextual for people.
“Most of our people live in the rural areas and have less or no knowledge at all when it comes to reading and comprehending in general as well as understanding the laws that are already in place.
“I’d like to see that kind of support from the PNG Government, not only the money but ensuring that the people that are being put in place must be able to carry out these duties to protect the women, children and men of this country and if they are not doing that, they should be held accountable for,” she said.
Dr. Hukula also recommends that a holistic approach will be an effective mechanism on how best to address GBV cases and other forms of violence in the country.
She explained that apart from the cases from Gender Based Violence and how to identify and deal with the solution, there are other contributing factors which include the issues around mental health and the level of education as an underlying factor.
She added that all the underlying factors contribute towards better addressing GBV in the country and therefore taking a holistic approach in addressing the matter will be a key tool.
The respective government departments and sectors that have been brought forward by the Inquiry Committee include the Department of Justice and Attorney General, Members of the Judiciary (Courts), The Department of Prime Minister and the National Executive Council (PNGNEC) and The Department of Community Development and Religion.
Others include the Police Department, the Treasury, the Department of Communications and ICT and the Department of Correctional Services.