Most times victims are afraid to report violence, often times most people live in fear and are discouraged to report any forms of violence to the authorities. Thus, upon recognizing that violence in families and communities is a barrier to development, Hidden Valley Mine has taken proactive steps to address gender-based violence (GBV) and family and sexual violence (FSV). In partnership with the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary’s Family and Sexual Violence Unit (FSVU) in Wau and the Morobe Provincial Gender-Based Violence Secretariat, the Mine’s Social Performance and Communities section recently rolled out an extensive awareness campaign. Reaching more than 1,000 people, including the mine’s workforce and people from landowner villages and communities in the footprint area, the campaign’s aim is to help people understand laws surrounding violence, and make them aware of services available for anyone needing support. Thelma Hungito, Program Coordinator with the GBV Secretariat, said having information could act as a deterrent for perpetrators, as well as encourage people to report incidents. “A lot of time people see gender-based violence as an issue that only women should deal with, however little did they know that, when Parliament passed the Family Protection Act in 2013, it made domestic violence a criminal matter." "So domestic violence is just like armed robbery or murder and will be treated as such by the courts.” She explained that this was a big step away from the traditional norms of dealing with violence in families. “As much as possible, we want people to stop accepting ‘bel kol’ money, or compensation because we know offenders are likely to re-offend, thus reporting someone and ensuring they do prison time will discourage other people – that’s what needs to happen.” Ms Hungito added that she was keen to see more private-public initiatives that focuses on prevention. Sheenie Kapen, Gender Development Officer with HVM, said that by engaging the broader community Hidden Valley Mine demonstrated that tackling GBV/FSV is a shared responsibility, and the program was a call to action for everyone to embrace the challenge of reducing GBV and FSV cases.