THE Coalition of Parliamentarians has expressed their extreme horror that the murderers of women still appear to be able to walk free, despite complaints being made and even when cases are taken to court.
On 28 August, a PNG judge gave a man who beat his wife to death a suspended sentence citing extenuating circumstances, as the man paid his wife’s parents K10,000 for their loss. Yesterday, a Mount Hagen District Court Magistrate struck out charges against three men as lacking evidence despite police allegedly witnessing them transporting a dead body. The Coalition of Parliamentarians demand answers from the country’s justice system in the wake of murders cases walking free.
Powes Parkop, Governor NCD, Co- Chairman of the Coalition of Parliamentarians to end GBV and a Member of the Special Parliamentary Committee on GBV stated that: “This is an outrageous decision and demonstrates complete inaction on the part of the prosecution and police investigation to do their work well. These types of clear injustices break down our system of government. People will no longer believe that the government is functioning because it cannot guarantee their rights or protection them anymore. We are seeing the slow disintegration and collapse of government. We have problem with police and now judiciary is going same way. We need a radical change to halt this slide. The Coalition Members collectively will raise our deep concern with Public Prosecutor and demand his Office and that of the Secretary for Justice and Attorney General intervene immediately.”
A woman experiences gender-based violence every 30 seconds in Papua New Guinea. Every year, 1.4 million women aged 15 to 49 experience violence simply because they are women. Globally, it is estimated that more than 700 million women, or one in three, have been subjected to some form of intimate partner violence in their lifetime. It is a pandemic.
Gary Juffa, Governor Oro and member of the Coalition stated: “It is deplorable that GBV cases keep getting handled so poorly and that justice is not being delivered through our courts system. We have to seriously review the investigations and prosecutions capacity in PNG. We need to analyze why many such cases are not being handled in a manner that can give satisfaction to the expectations of our people that justice has been delivered. We need to study the case and find out what led to this decision or outcome. Was it a matter of poor investigation or lackluster prosecution? Whatever it is we need to improve so that all elements of the justice system are working effectively and efficiently.”
Coalition Member Governor Undialu called for more practical responses to improving the capacities and commitment of Government officials to addressing GBV. He noted: “In other countries, Universities offer subject like criminology and forensic psychology, to better understand why crime happens and how it can be addressed. I am not convinced that six months at the Bomana Training College is sufficient training to work professionally in the area of GBV. The College can be upgraded to become an institution that can offer full-time training to justice officials, including offering diploma and degree course in areas such as criminology, prosecution, forensic investigations and the like. We must also require continuing legal education, specifically related to GBV – for all our justice officials. Not only the police, but also prosecutors and judges.”
Allan Bird, Governor ESP, Co-Chair of the Coalition of Parliamentarians to end GBV and Deputy Chair of the Special Parliamentary Committee to end GBV stated in disbelief: “I am very concerned at the way our justice system is dealing with GBV. We tabled a GBV Report in Parliament one month ago that included more than 20 recommendations for the justice system. What are they doing to implement them? Our mandate as Parliamentary Committee is to oversight and hold to account the mechanisms of government as they deal with GBV. We will continue to use our powers to do this.”
Charles Abel, Chairman of the Special Parliamentary Committee on GBV stated: “This is unbelievable and unacceptable! It defies belief that our court system, in this day and age, can make such decisions in the light of such overwhelming circumstantial evidence. It makes a mockery of the term justice and our justice system.”
The Coalition of Parliamentarians to End Gender-Based Violence comprises 20 Members of Parliament who stand steadfastly against gender-based violence. The Coalition includes Ministers, Governors and Open Members of Parliament who want to use their positions of leadership to drive change and improve the lives of women and children across the country.
Together, the Coalition members call for the nation’s justice institutions to dramatically ramp up their action to address gender-based violence.
