Violence Against Women in Elections in Papua New Guinea
Recommendations
Dec | 2023
Dealing with the challenges that women face in the electoral process in PNG will involve addressing the many barriers noted above at their root causes and promoting womenâs leadership in PNG. In light of the findings, and in consultation with the interviewees who took part in this assessment, the following recommendations are offered to stakeholders engaged in supporting womenâs political participation and ending VAWE.
Improve civic and voter education to inform women of their rights and promote gender equality in culturally responsive ways.
| Recommendations | Stakeholders |
|---|---|
| The good work of several organizations that operate in this area should be scaled up. Mainline churches in PNG promote the Theology of Gender Equality, and the Anglican and Catholic churches have conducted training in gender equality and trained male advocates at the community level. Given the moral authority and wide reach of the church throughout PNG society, this culturally responsive approach to the country context should be scaled up at the community level. | Donors to support CSOs and INGOs to scale up civic and voter education to inform women of their rights and promote gender equality. |
| The Voice Inc., Equal Playing Field, and TIPNG have all conducted civic education among youth to promote gender equality; these materials should be reviewed, updated as needed, and brought to scale. The PNG Department for Community Development and Religion, in partnership with UN Women, supported the establishment of four regional coalitions for gender equality during the 2022 elections by bringing together male advocates; women leaders; and women-led networks and organizations from business, politics, civil society, and churches to advocate for womenâs political participation. These coalitions should be maintained and nurtured both during and outside of the electoral cycle. | Donors to support CSOs and INGOs to scale up civic and voter education to inform women of their rights and promote gender equality. |
Pass the amended OLIPPAC to ensure that 10 percent of candidates supported by political parties are women.
| Recommendations | Stakeholders |
|---|---|
| IFES supports TSMs for women in PNG. Political will is lacking at the highest levelâthe Office of the Prime Ministerâfor reserved seats for women in Parliament. However, there is a much greater likelihood of mustering political will to pass an amendment to the OLIPPAC that would require all political parties to nominate at least 10 percent women candidates to run in the national elections. Upon passage of the amendment, the IPPCC must have funding to conduct outreach and raise awareness in the provinces among political parties and potential women candidates. | Parliament to amend OLIPPAC; IPPCC to implement changes. |
| IFES supports the Special Parliamentary Committee on GBVâs recommendation to further develop the idea of using the OLIPPAC Central Fund to collect monies that could be dedicated to women candidates in a non-partisan way. The IPPCC has expressed interest in this initiative. In accordance with the OLIPPAC Section 77, the Central Fund can be a repository for funds provided by the national government, citizens (see Section 79), international organizations (see Section 80), and non-citizen. The funding would help address the ongoing challenge for women candidates to fund their election campaigns. The IPPCC could also explore reducing the candidate nomination fee for women since candidates stated in interviews that political parties do not cover this fee. | Parliament to amend OLIPPAC; IPPCC to implement changes. |
Create an enabling environment for women to vote and campaign free from intimidation.
| Recommendations | Stakeholders |
|---|---|
| The PNGEC should train the presiding officers of polling stations to provide separate entrances, lines, and polling booths more consistently and effectively to protect the secrecy of the ballot. Training should include lessons learned from the PNGEC and observer groups. This would improve on past practices, when polling stations may have followed the general guidelines of separate polling lines and polling booths but did not ensure confidentiality (for example, by placing booths in such a way that enabled voters at adjacent stations to see how women were voting). The training should include clear examples of effective separate entrances, lines, and polling booths for women. | PNGEC to train presiding officers at polling stations. |
| The IPPCC should be empowered to enforce the code of conduct that candidates and political parties sign and to sanction them for election-related offensesâparticularly bribery, undue influence, and defamationâto dispel the culture of impunity. |
Parliament to amend OLIPPAC; IPPCC to implement. |
| Election dispute resolution mechanisms should be more accessible to marginalized populations, including women and persons with disabilities, so they can bring candidates or political parties to account for election offenses. PNGEC voter education should raise awareness of election offenses (including how they affect marginalized populations), types of evidence needed, and how to register complaints. Additionally, the Special Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reform should consider lowering barriers for marginalized groups seeking redress for election offenses. | Parliament to amend OLIPPAC; IPPCC to implement. |
| Peacebuilding activities need to be mainstreamed throughout the electoral cycle and not treated as a defined project with limited funding and timeframes. |
Donors to fund INGOs and CSOs. |
| The PNG government should provide funding for a joint operations command center (JOCC) to be able to work proactively instead of reactively to election violence. In order for a JOCC to be successful, the PNG government should provide funding to the PNG police and military ahead of the campaign period to deploy personnel from the campaign period through the return of writs (election results) in hot spot areas. The PNGEC should train police and military personnel on electoral offenses, election procedures, and gender considerations during elections. | PNG government to fund increased security around elections; PNGEC, with INGO support, to train the PNG police; the military to provide security. |
| The IPPCC could consider using the Central Fund to provide private security for women candidates on a non-partisan basis to ensure protection on par with that of male candidates who hire private security. | PNGEC to amend OLIPPAC; IPPCC to implement. |
Provide surge support for GBV service providers during the campaign to post-election period.
| Recommendations | Stakeholders |
|---|---|
| The PNG government or donor community should provide surge funding for GBV services to address anticipated upticks in private and public GBV from the start of the campaign period through the post-election period. This would be similar to the surge funding provided for the 1-Tok Kauselin Helpim Lain and shelters for women who experienced GBV during the COVID-19 pandemic. Election violence task forces should be better resourced and connected with GBV service providers so they can respond appropriately to incidences of GBV. | PNG government to provide resources or donors to fund surge support for GBV service providers. |
Increase and sustain support for police and GBV providers; improve access to justice.
| Recommendations | Stakeholders |
|---|---|
| PNG has one of the worldâs lowest proportions of police compared to the total population. Its police force needs more personnel. The FSVU should be better resourced with vehicles, fuel, and staff to be able to reach survivors, conduct investigations, serve arrest warrants, press for convictions, and enforce protection orders. The FSVU also needs to better network with CBOs to provide referrals to shelters and counseling services. The PNG government should create new channels for GBV survivors to access justice. This might include creating family courts presided over by judges (a recommendation of the Special Parliamentary Committee on GBV). Providing further resources to FSVU and CBOs to provide counseling, shelter, and new channels to access justice will help win back the trust of survivors. More survivors may report GBV knowing they will receive support and justice. The new SARV law is in its early days of implementation; enforcement should continue, including through arrests and jail time for perpetrators, to demonstrate that these crimes will no longer be tolerated. | PNG government to provide resources to implement recommendations. |
Stem the tide of gun violence in PNG
| Recommendations | Stakeholders |
|---|---|
| Tougher laws to curb the use of illegal firearms and firearms outside their intended purpose were passed ahead of the 2022 elections. The PNG police force needs additional staffing to enforce these laws, along with a system to track its firearms (including those taken out of service) to keep weapons out of the wrong hands. |
PNG government provide resources to implement recommendations and amend laws. |
| The PNG government could consider making it illegal for civilians to carry weapons from the start of the campaign period through the seating of the new government. The PNG police force or Defense Force should be properly resourced to enforce such a ban. |
PNG government provide resources to implement recommendations and amend laws. |
| Review the Bire Kimisopa guns control report that was tabled in Parliament in 2018 to identify politically viable recommendations for curbing gun violence in PNG. | CSO to advocate for gun control. |
Footnotes
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Gelu, Alphonse. 2021. Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates Commission Office of the Registrar. Preparations for the 2022 National Elections, July 2021.