Papua New Guinea’s national Family and Sexual Violence Action Committee (FSVAC) have marked International Women’s Day with the launch of Pathways to Justice: Strongim Sindaun Bilong Femili. The production of this documentary – supported by the Australian Government – outlines the services available to family and sexual violence (FSV) survivors.
Such services include the FSV referral pathway in PNG – a network of service providers who provide support and care to survivors. These comprise Family Support Centres located in health facilities, Family and Sexual Violence Units (FSVUs) in police stations and Village Courts, located across the country.
The documentary, commissioned by the Consultative Implementation and Monitoring Council (CIMC) also outlines the help available to survivors, and the laws and processes in place to ensure survivors receive the protection and care they need.
The CIMC-FSVAC National Coordinator, Marcia Kalinoe, said, “The documentary provides practical information for survivors about the support and services that are available and how they can access them, but it also seeks to advocate for increased services for survivors of FSV.”
Australian High Commissioner, Jon Philp, who attended the launch, said that although FSV remained a significant problem, progress was being made.
“Whilst there is a lot more that still needs to be done to reduce family and sexual violence, today we recognise the achievements and continued efforts of our partners who do the hard work every day, driving change and improving outcomes for women and children.” Mr Philp said.
The Australian Government’s long-standing commitment to improving FSV responses in the Law and Justice Sector include supporting the establishment of 27 FSVUs across the country, strengthening the FSV referral pathways to improve the coordination of services, providing FSV investigation and prosecution training to police, prosecutors and court officials, as well as assisting in the review and development of FSV laws.