Addressing Gendered Violence in Papua New Guinea: Opportunities and Options

  • Negar Ashtari Abay, Kathleen Kuehnast, Gordon Peake, and Melissa Demian

Summary

  • Extremely high rates of gendered violence in Papua New Guinea (PNG) are a critical concern for peace and security because the political and economic stability of a country are linked to the status and security of its women.
  • Rising economic inequality and lack of investment in basic services in recent years have fueled increasingly lethal intercommunal, intimate partner, and sorcery accusation–related violence in PNG.
  • Violence is worse in Hela Province, home to the extractive oil industry, but is also unfolding in Morobe Province and across PNG, particularly as the number of internally displaced persons increases.
  • State-centric and rule-of-law approaches to addressing gender-based violence have been ineffective in PNG, where state institutions have little reach beyond urban areas; local norms and customary law do not neatly align with other legal frameworks; and society is organized around informal, dynamic political and social networks.
  • The application of USIP’s Gender Inclusive Framework and Theory points to promising opportunities for programming, such as providing innovative support to micro-level initiatives led by efficacious actors, promoting nonviolent masculinities, and addressing youth disenfranchisement and intergenerational trauma.

Citation

Negar Ashtari Abay et al., “Addressing Gendered Violence in Papua New Guinea: Opportunities and Options,” United States Institute of Peace (United States Institute of Peace, March 2024).

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