Australian High Commission
Papua New Guinea

Speech 070323 Women

 

Keynote Address on PNG Women’s Day 2007

 

23 March 2007; Hideaway Hotel, Port Moresby, PNG

Deputy High Commissioner to PNG, Ann Harrap

 

Good morning distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for your invitation to celebrate this important occasion.

Today, PNG celebrates National Women’s Day. It provides an opportunity for us to recognise the achievements of PNG women and their contribution to society. On this day we can celebrate the progress that has been made but also contemplate those areas of women's lives where more must be done.

This year’s theme is “Ending Impunity for Violence Against Women and Girls”.

Violence against women and girls is recognised as one of the great evils of our time and stopping it is one of our most urgent challenges. Hurting women is bad for the women themselves, bad for families and bad for economies too - and that includes sexual violence, which fuels the spread of HIV/AIDS. Violence against women is a violation of their human rights, it is always a crime and never acceptable.

All too often however perpetrators of this violence go unpunished. Laws are often not adequate or they are not properly enforced. Added to this, violence against women remains one of the world’s most widely underreported offences. When perpetrators are not held accountable for their crimes, it sends a message that society condones such violence.

Support for victims and effective law and justice responses are a major step towards addressing impunity.

The Australian Government is working with the Government of PNG and community organisations to support services for victims and assist law and justice agencies to enforce the law. It has provided support for:

- the development of a training program for prosecutors, the judiciary, magistrates and police on the 2003 sexual offences amendments to the criminal code.
- a victim’s support network to enable organisations like the Salvation Army to provide support to victims of sexual violence through the legal process
- the establishment of a support centre in Buka for victims of gender based violence.
- the establishment of a family support centre at the Port Moresby General Hospital to offer a range of support services for victims of sexual or family violence.

Making justice more accessible to victims is a major step towards addressing impunity. It is however not the only mechanism.

The Executive Director of the United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM), Noeleen Heyzer, has noted that: “Ending violence against women requires multiple strategies working across sectors and at different levels. This requires not only legal and institutional reform but also changes to public perceptions.”

The Australian Government has long recognised the importance of public awareness in terms of changing people’s attitudes to the status of women in society and attitudes towards violence against women. And we see it as important that each and every one of us – men and women together – takes seriously our role in spreading that message – in our homes, in our places of work, on the sporting field and in our communities.

One way in which we are trying to change perceptions is through sport. Our support of the Prime Minister’s XIII rugby league event in 2005 and again in 2006 is one example of how a popular event can be used to raise awareness of the problems of violence against women and of HIV/AIDS.

Australia is a proud supporter of the law and justice sector in PNG. We will continue to work in partnership with the sector to support its vision of a just, safe and secure society for all.

And together with the sector, we will play our part in spreading the message that every woman has the right to live and work in an environment that is respectful and free from abuse, violence and fear.

So I am pleased to join you today as the sector reflects on its efforts over the past 5 years to address family and sexual violence. The National Family and Sexual Violence Strategy provides a comprehensive framework of action, however much work remains to be done. Family and Sexual violence is an issue that demands action by everyone in the community, but it depends on strong leadership and energy from individuals like you. The law and justice sector has a key role in setting the standard for all parts of government and the community on this issue. I applaud your courage and conviction to get involved and encourage you to keep looking for those opportunities to implement this strategy through your respective agencies, and together as a sector.

Thank you.