Speech at the District Court Women Magistrates Workshop
19-20 October 2006, Port Moresby, PNG
AusAID Minister Counsellor, Margaret Thomas
Introduction
I am very pleased to be here today to open this inaugural meeting for women District Court Magistrates. The involvement of women at all levels within the law and justice sector is vital to ensure the justice system properly reflects the interests and perspectives of the community it serves. For this reason, the Chief Magistrate’s efforts to support women magistrates and to strengthen their role in the system are very encouraging and I commend Magisterial Services for undertaking this initiative.
I also commend all the women magistrates here today taking part in this workshop. It is your hard work and dedication that will not only make this workshop a success, but will also enable you to continue, and further strengthen, your important role in the law and justice sector.
Australia’s support to the Law & Justice Sector
The Australian Government is a long time supporter of the law and justice sector in PNG. Currently, through the aid program, Australia is providing a range of assistance across all law and justice agencies, including police, correctional services, the department of justice, village courts, ombudsman commission, national courts and, of course, magisterial services and the district courts.
We are also very pleased to be supporting the work of the Community Justice Liaison Unit as it helps to build stronger partnerships between the formal agencies and communities. Our commitment to supporting the sector’s efforts to work more closely with communities, as well as developing a stronger focus on service delivery at the provincial and district levels, recognises the importance of informal and community-based systems of dispute resolution and crime prevention.
Australia is also providing targeted assistance to the law and justice sector under the Enhanced Cooperation Program. The PNG and Australian governments have agreed that up to 18 Australian government officials will be placed across the sector to bolster the work of key agencies. Currently, there are two Australian government officials working in the legal policy and law reform areas of the Department of Justice & Attorney General, and there are four Australian prosecutors working closely with their Papua New Guinean colleagues in the Office of the Public Prosecutor. In the near future, it is intended that a new Solicitor- General will be appointed as part of ECP, with a range of other placements to follow. Australia and PNG are also finalising arrangements for the redeployment of a small number of Australian Federal Police to work with the RPNGC.
PNG’s Law & Justice Policy Framework
All Australian assistance to the law and justice sector is provided in support of PNG’s National Law and Justice Policy and Plan of Action (2000) and the Law & Justice Sector Strategic Framework (2005). These important documents provide the policy framework within which the sector operates, and they are critical for helping both the PNG Government, and donors like Australia, to prioritise and coordinate the use of resources in the sector. The nature and focus of Australia’s support through the aid program is determined in partnership with PNG through the annual planning and budgeting process of the law and justice agencies, working closely with the Department of National Planning & Monitoring.
Law & Justice Sector Gender Strategy
Importantly, this high-level policy framework also provides the umbrella for a number of specific strategic initiatives within the sector. One such initiative, of particular interest to this workshop, is the Law and Justice Sector Gender Strategy. We were very pleased to have assisted the Law & Justice Sector Working Group and other agency representatives to develop this gender strategy in 2005, which has now been endorsed by the law and justice agency heads for implementation.
The Law and Justice Sector Gender Strategy promotes gender equality for employees and office holders within the sector, as well as for the customers and users of the law and justice system. This means the strategy focuses on how the law and justice agencies might address gender internally, within each agency; as well as how law and justice agencies can improve the delivery of services to the communities they serve.
Key issues facing women in the law and justice sector
I’m sure you are all well aware of the different ways women are both involved in and affected by the justice system, and the key issues facing women in this sector. Looking within the system itself, like most areas of the public service, women are grossly underrepresented in the law and justice sector, and there is currently a lack of opportunity for promotion and limited participation in management and decision-making.
For women wanting seek help from the law and justice system, there is less access for them to the justice system than for men, and many women report being frustrated with their limited knowledge and lack of access to the formal system. Women frequently receive inequitable treatment before the law, on the basis of their gender. The crimes from which women suffer most frequently are assault and rape (particularly within marriage) and many women feel unsafe both within their homes and in public. Women also express dissatisfaction with their lack of control over their reproductive health, particularly their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.
How the Gender Strategy aims to address these issues
The law and justice sector’s gender strategy has identified seven main objectives, which describe how the sector is seeking to address the issues just mentioned. These objectives include: developing policies and practices that will enable men and women to participate equally as employees and office holders within the law and justice sector, including a focus on women’s training needs, increasing the number of women in management roles, actively targeting women in recruitment, and recruitment based on merit; developing sector-wide awareness and involvement in the prevention and management of HIV/AIDS, ensuring that the activities of agency staff do not contribute to the spread of HIV and that staff (and clients) who are infected with HIV are treated equally, and without discrimination; increasing women’s access to the formal justice system through legal awareness training and increased women’s involvement in all legal forums; and monitoring women’s experiences of restorative justice and informal dispute resolution forums in order to avoid restorative justice initiatives that perpetuate existing inequalities, and to encourage greater gender equity within informal and community-level systems.
What has been happening in the sector this year?
We are pleased to see that a number of agencies in the sector, including Magisterial Services, are starting to raise the profile of gender issues through staff education programs and workshops such as this one. A number of agencies have also expressed their commitment to develop Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policies in 2006 and some agencies have appointed EEO coordinators to assist in this process. Human Resource Managers from all law and justice agencies are now working together to monitor and promote the implementation of the gender strategy across the sector.
It is also encouraging to see that law and justice agencies are starting to develop special projects aimed at building the sector’s capacity to deal with the gender issues that come before the justice system. These include Village Courts training on HIV/AIDS and women and children’s rights, the establishment of two provincial trauma centres (in partnership with local stakeholders), and, in selected provinces, provision of training for police and public prosecutors on PNG’s revised sexual assault laws. We look forward to the sector continuing these important initiatives, as well as developing new activities, as part of the annual planning process for 2007.
What does all this mean for women magistrates?
It is very encouraging to see such a strong representation of PNG’s women magistrates here today. It is clear that there are many issues and concerns facing you in your role as magistrates, whether these relate to your work opportunities and practices, or the issues you are confronted with in the many cases you deal with on a daily basis.
Both for the communities you serve and within the law and justice sector, you are women leaders and role models. Your visible presence, and the contribution you make through your work, serves to strengthen the justice system as a whole. I am encouraged by the Chief Magistrate’s strong leadership in promoting the role of women in Magisterial Services, and I strongly support his efforts to attract more women to join you as District Court Magistrates.
I would like to wish you well for this workshop and trust that it will encourage you to be active advocates of your sector’s gender strategy within your agency, the sector, and the community more broadly. It is also important to remember that you are not alone. I would encourage you to look to your women colleagues across the sector, in police, correctional services, public prosecutions, for ideas and support. There are also people within Magisterial Services who are able to provide you with information and assistance - your human resources manager and your Law & Justice Sector Working Group member, Mr Clivson Philip are important contact points for all of you.
Once again, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to be here today and it gives me great pleasure to declare the first Women District Magistrates Workshop open.
END