DANGER IN THE HOME

In Papua New Guinea a large percentage of local men don’t respect ‘meri,’ constantly beating them, often using bush knives and axes. Men believe that after they have paid a bride price — following local tradition when a bride’s parents receive payments from the groom’s family — they fully possess a woman and can treat her the way they treat a purchased vehicle.

Many cases of domestic violence occur because of alcoholism and jealousy, as men in Papua New Guinea often have two or three wives at the same time. Rejected and beaten women are often kicked out of their homes and onto the street, where they then become easy targets for Raskol gangs. Violence against women is rarely brought to court. Most assailants are kept in a cell at the police station for a couple of days and then released. The police claim the low rate of convictions stems from the fact that victims often fear filing a statement or that many wives take pity on their husbands and insist on the termination of the case.

Tessie Soi, a social worker and the director of the Family Support Center in Port Moresby’s General Hospital, says that most women would rather tolerate beating and coerced sex than be left without the support of a man. “The problem is that men start feeling unpunished and continue treating their wives with a greater cruelty, even when pregnant. This often results in a loss of the child or death of a woman. That’s why I insist that once violence has been reported to the police, there is no way back”.

Perpetrators also escape justice because of money. To file an assault report with the police, an abused women must first obtain a medical statement, which costs. Also, a woman has to buy fuel for the police car, as nowadays police stations do not receive enough financial support. Fuel costs are high and, in rural areas, women cannot afford the expense. Furthermore there is no guarantee that police will not take a bribe from a landed perpetrator to release him later.