By SEPKOLIN WALNE
SP Brewery, through its iconic brand SP Lager, has officially launched its Anti‑Violence Campaign, a nationwide initiative promoting positive behaviour change and safer communities across Papua New Guinea.
SP Brewery aims to inspire positive action and encourage other corporations and organisations to take an explicit stand against violence.
Managing Director Ed Weggemans said that the campaign was a nationwide initiative.
“SP Brewery is genuinely concerned about the impact of violence in our community, domestic or gender-based violence affecting Papua New Guineans.
“To our iconic SP Lager, we recognized that we have a unique platform to speak out against domestic violence,” MD Weggemans said.
He said the launch builds on a series of community-focused engagements that SP Brewery has undertaken since 2022.
“With these efforts, we have collaborated closely with government agencies, law enforcement, and advocacy groups to create a united voice against gender-based violence,” Mr Weggemans said.
He highlighted key milestones in 2024.
“In 2024, SP Brewery signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Community Development and its gender-based violence secretariat.
“In this partnership, we have continued to participate in the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence from November 25th to December 10th each year,” Mr Weggemans said.
Minister for Community Development, Religion and Youth Jason Peter emphasised that despite GBV progress, the statistics remain high.
“I encourage more organisations to partner with the Marape-Rosso government so that together we can achieve greater impact and positive results for our people.
“I also called on SP Brewery and the other stakeholders to continue raising awareness on the effects of alcohol consumption.
“Over consumption of alcohol has been one of the major contributing factors to GBV in our communities, therefore we need stronger advocacy and awareness programs to drive the message of responsibility and self-control when consuming alcohol,” Minister Peter said.