Violence Against Women in Elections in Papua New Guinea

Current status of women in PNG society 
PNG ranked 160th of 161 countries in the 2021 United Nations Gender Inequality Index₄₇ (it was not included in the 2022 Gender Equality Index). The Human Rights Watch World Report 2021 noted that PNG is the most dangerous place in the region for women and girls.₄₈ “The Asian Development Bank in 2021 estimated that 37.5 percent of Papua New Guineans live below the poverty line, many of them in rural areas. Rural women, children, and people living with disabilities are the groups most vulnerable to poverty, insecurity, and violence.” ₄₉

A 2022 report on fragility in PNG noted, “Papua New Guinean women are marginalized and excluded from the formal economy because of cultural customs and colonial legacies, which are reinforced by weak institutions, poor public service delivery, and the lack of gender-sensitive policy implementation.”₅₀  Although women traditionally have access to customary land, this does not translate into ownership or decision-making power over its use. Only 12 percent of women in PNG reported being the main decision-makers at home, according to a 2020 assessment₅₁.  Additionally, PNG has the highest gender gap in financial inclusion in the Pacific region, with women 29 percent less likely than men to have access to formal financial services₅₂.  Young people, particularly young women, rarely participate in community decision-making processes and have limited access to educational and vocational opportunities₅₃. 

Christianity, masculinity, and GBV 
Christianity in Papua New Guinea has historically maintained that a man is the head of the family and has ultimate decision-making authority. Some men see their role as a head of household as conferring the right to expect obedience, discipline family members, and bring them in line with their concept of Christianity. Some women accept this idea, pray for domestic violence to end, and consider ways that they can “be a better Christian and wife” instead of seeking external support₅₄.  

While churches promote patriarchal leadership and authority, they do not condone domestic violence and frequently take the lead in providing support and shelter for survivors of GBV. For example, in one of the most dangerous areas of PNG, the Catholic Diocese of Wabag included in its 2021–2025 pastoral plan instructions to pastors to raise awareness and aid victims of SARV.

Through the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)-funded Church Partnership Program, PNG churches have important roles in promoting biblical views of women’s rights and ending gender violence₅₅.  Discussions about gender equality and human rights are interpreted through Christian concepts of “women and men’s common humanity.”₅₆  For example, the Seventh Day Adventist church, Baptist Union PNG, United Church of Christ PNG, and Catholic church teach the Theology of Gender Equality in their theological colleges or church leader training. Additionally, the Anglican and Catholic churches conduct training in gender equality and male advocacy at the community level. Given the moral authority and wide reach of the church throughout PNG society, this approach is culturally responsive to the country context. 

Women’s role in decision-making
Women are historically underrepresented in Papua New Guinean politics and public administration. Since independence in 1975, only nine women have been elected to the National Parliament. Two women were elected in 2022, an improvement over 2017 when no women were elected, but a decrease from the three women elected in 2012 (the highest number of women elected to the National Parliament to date). In the 2022 national election, ten other women placed among the top five candidates for the seats they contested. Additionally, more political parties endorsed women candidates than in the past. Of the 159 women nominated in 2022 (a slight decrease from 2017), political parties endorsed 64 (40.3 percent)₅₇.  Of the 167 women who ran in 2017, political parties endorsed only 38 (22.8 percent). Women candidates told the Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) that, even with party endorsement, they had to pay nomination fees, print campaign materials, and organize campaign supporters and scrutineers; however, some women endorsed by political parties did receive key support from prominent male party leaders. 

Although women have comprised no more than 2 percent of MPs in the 47 years since PNG’s independence, and despite numerous reports urging PNG to adopt temporary special measures (TSM) to increase their representation in Parliament, their political will is still lacking at the highest levels for TSM to reserve seats for women. Prime Minister Marape has rejected reserved seats for women, using the example of Governor of Central Province Ruffina Peters to say women can win on their own merits. 

The prime minister blamed a flawed electoral process that makes it much more difficult for women to be elected and promised to improve the electoral process to make elections free and fair. However, he did not comment on proposed amendments to the OLIPPAC that would require each political party to nominate at least 10 percent women candidates in order for the party to be eligible to run in national elections₅₈.  A post on the DevPolicy blog noted, “Political party quotas for women candidates are used successfully by many countries around the world and could if implemented, increase the number of women candidates in PNG. This form of TSM still allows voters to decide which candidate, based on their merits, they want to represent them.”₅₉ 

Reserved seats for women are established at the subnational level in local-level governments and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville Parliament and community governments. The PNG Organic Law on Provincial and Local Level Governments calls for one representative of women’s organizations in every urban local-level government and two in every rural local-level government. However, since the last local-level government election in 2019, of the 6,190 ward seats and 319 local-level government seats, only 120 were held by women₆₀.  The Autonomous Bougainville Government Parliament governs the province of Bougainville, which gained autonomous status in 2001 following a decade-long civil war and has reserved three seats for women since then. The creation of these seats has been credited to women’s role in the peace process during the conflict, as well as the traditional matrilineal nature of Bougainville society₆₁.  In the 2020 Autonomous Bougainville Government election, one woman was elected to a non-reserved seat, similar to the last election in 2015.

Women hold only 24 percent of administrative positions in national public service. At the executive level, the proportion of women decreases to 7 percent. A 2015 report noted, “At the provincial and subnational levels, women’s representation in public service is marginal, accounting for zero executive-level appointments, 6 percent of senior management, and only 10 percent of middle management.”₆₂ 

Gender-Based Violence in PNG

Types of Gender-Based Violence 

Physical, social, and psychological violence: PNG’s last demographic and health survey (2016–2018) found that 56 percent of women aged 15–49 years had experienced physical violence, and 28 percent had experienced sexual violence. Two-thirds of married women between the ages of 15 and 49 had experienced spousal physical, sexual, or emotional violence at some point in their lives. Among women who reported any form of physical and/or sexual violence and who sought help from anyone, only 5 percent sought help from the police, 5 percent from medical services, and 3 percent from social services. The data indicated that 28 percent of adolescent girls aged 15–19 years had experienced sexual violence. Physical, social, and psychological violence, whether it occurs in private or in public, impacts women’s ability to vote for a candidate of their choosing and to engage as scrutineers and candidates. This issue is described under Factor 2, Women’s Access to the Electoral Process, and Factor 3, Violence Against Women in Elections.

Intercommunal conflicts: Intercommunal conflicts once occurred primarily between men but now increasingly target women and children₆₃.  Women are also sometimes given as a form of compensation to settle disputes between clans₆₄.  Intercommunal conflicts played a key role in electoral violence during the 2022 elections. This issue is discussed under Factor 3, Violence Against Women in Elections. 

Sorcery: In 2022, civil society representatives and religious leaders noted a rise in GBV, including the killing of women accused of sorcery, along with their daughters. Many of those responsible were not prosecuted because they had highly placed connections in the police or with political figures₆₅.  The Special Parliamentary Committee on GBV estimated that, between 2000 and 2021, violent incidents related to SARV nationwide numbered over 6,000, resulting in an estimated 3,000 deaths. The committee determined that approximately 388 people were accused of sorcery each year in the Highlands region. One-third of the allegations led to physical violence or property damage. Victims suffered death, permanent injury, or serious harm from torture. The committee observed that cases may have been underreported, as victims feared further stigmatization₆₆. Election violence in 2022 triggered intercommunal violence, which resulted in SARV as one type of violence that women experienced during the elections.

Sexual and intimate partner violence during the COVID-19 pandemic
In line with global trends, data reported through PNG’s National Department of Health showed that sexual violence and intimate partner violence escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The national helpline for those experiencing family violence or sexual violence saw a 75 percent increase in demand during the period from March 2020 to April 2021₆₇.  The helpline received additional funding that supported expanded hours of operation from November 2020 to March 2022. DFAT provided further support for 23 safe houses during the pandemic₆₈.  

Services for survivors
Police FSVUs comprise 150 staff in 26 units across PNG. Twenty family violence desks in 18 of 22 provincial police headquarters provide survivors with protection, assistance through the judicial process, and medical care₆₉.  The U.S. State Department Human Rights Report 2022 notes, “Police leadership in some provinces improved services for survivors of gender-based violence, but this was largely a matter of the local leadership’s personal interest in addressing these abuses.” Nine shelters for female domestic abuse survivors operate in the National Capital District₇₀.  Outside the capital area, there are at least 17 other shelters₇₁.  The need for shelters far outweighs availability. The Special Parliamentary Committee on GBV noted severe under-resourcing of protection services for women, including those related to health, policing, counseling, safe houses, and prosecution₇₂.  

Lack of justice for survivors
Given that two-thirds of Papua New Guinean women experience GBV in their lifetime₇₃ and that 15,444 cases of domestic violence were reported in 2020, it is clear that most women do not report rape or domestic violence to authorities₇₄. Communities view intimate partner violence as a private matter and discourage reporting₇₅. In rural areas, GBV is not often reported; when it is, the remoteness of villages and lack of resources, including staffing, vehicles, and fuel, limit responses₇₆. Even when GBV is reported, there are few arrests and fewer convictions. Individual protection orders are rarely enforced when they are breached₇₇.  This creates a lack of trust in the police. PNG Police Commissioner David Manning told the Special Parliamentary Committee on GBV that the police lack the resources to investigate GBV₇₈. Additionally, the PNG legal system allows village chiefs to negotiate compensation payments for survivors in lieu of trials for rapists. Anecdotal evidence suggests that survivors and their families prefer to pursue tribal remedies, including compensation, instead of official court procedures. As reported in the 2022 U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices for PNG, “Village courts regularly order payment of compensation to an abused spouse’s family in cases of domestic abuse rather than issuing an order to detain and potentially charge the alleged offender.” ₇₉ 

Interestingly, when women commit violence against other women, many are arrested. Independent observers noted that approximately 90 percent of women in prison were serving sentences for attacking or killing their husbands or other women (often another of their husband’s wives).₈₀ 
 

Social and cultural gender norms
When asked if women are expected to perform certain types of roles, 85 percent of respondents to IFES KIIs and FGDs mentioned home-based roles. The idea of women as caregivers and homemakers continues to be a pervasive social norm in PNG. When asked what women are not supposed to do, respondents stated that they should not make decisions or participate in politics. When asked what happens when women do not comply with these cultural norms, respondents noted that they are most likely to endure verbal, emotional, and physical abuse, threats, and violence in the private sphere. They added that women are likely to be subjected to public criticism and harassment. Such pervasive patriarchal norms dissuade women from participating in the political process. Women who ignore typical caregiving and homemaking roles to exercise decision-making agency (e.g., by voting) or participate in politics (e.g., by running for office) may experience private and public violence. This creates a chilling effect. It is, therefore, no surprise that TIPNG, in its 2022 election observation report, noted that women’s right to participate equally in the democratic election process was not fully respected in more than one-third of polling places observed. Overall, this is similar to the number of polling stations where women’s rights to participate in the democratic were not respected per TIPNG’s election observation report in 2017₈₁. However, in the Highlands, respect for women’s democratic rights seems to have worsened from TIPNG’s observations in 2022 compared with 2017₈₂. 

Regional Differences

Highlands region
TIPNG’s 2022 election observation report noted that women’s right to vote was least respected in the Highlands region. Interference in their right to vote was observed at 23.5 percent of polling places in the region in 2017, rising to 35.8 percent of polling places in 2022₈₃. 

The Highlands is a patrilineal region. Women are rarely able to vote for their preferred candidates, as male heads of families and tribal leaders make such decisions. Voters’ main criterion for choosing candidates is which one will provide the most money and resources in exchange for their votes. Candidates are opportunistic and exploit longstanding animosities among isolated communities, a persistent cultural tradition of seeking revenge for perceived wrongs, and the absence of law enforcement. 

In 2022, candidates collected weapons to ensure the safety of their supporters. According to the Enga PNG police commissioner, it was common for a village to have at least ten weapons—most of them high-powered firearms and homemade guns. Amassing firearms has been a normal practice since the 2002 election. The Enga commissioner observed that some weapons were likely stolen from the PNG Defense Force and the Police Armory in Port Moresby. Candidates also smuggle weapons from other provinces, such as Bougainville. The weapons are used in election-related violence, which tends to occur around voting and declaration periods. In Enga, majority candidates attacked opposition candidates and their supporters to influence the outcome, according to the commissioner₈₄. Supporters of opposition candidates display firearms as a form of intimidation before elections. The increased availability of high-powered weapons has caused large-scale intercommunal conflicts. A resulting increase in the number of internally displaced persons disproportionately impacts women and children₈₅.  

Momase, New Guinea Islands, and Southern regions 
The TIPNG observer report for Momase region noted that respect for women’s right to vote improved from about 50 percent always voting without interference in 2017 to more than two-thirds (68.2 percent) doing so in 2022—fairly close to the rates in the New Guinea Islands and Southern regions. The Momase region, which was previously viewed as peaceful, experienced some election violence in the form of destruction of property in 2022₈₆. Many observers were concerned by this uptick in violence in previously peaceful areas, wondering whether violence in elections could become more widespread and impact voters. Some respondents in the Momase, New Guinea Islands, and Southern regions felt that attitudes toward women in leadership were changing. Although those respondents were not in the majority, some noticed changes in attitudes toward women in public life, highlighting their increased leadership positions: 
 

Family and Bloc Voting
Women in PNG face obstacles in voting as they choose. Family voting is a serious impediment to their full participation in PNG elections, with men instructing female relatives whom to vote for. The European Union Observer report on the 2017 national elections noted that “a large number of women in the country does [sic] not exercise control of their own vote.”₈₇  In 2022, the TIPNG Election Observation Report noted that it had become the norm in several electorates for the male heads of families to make decisions, including on behalf of their wives and daughters. The 2022 Melanesian Spearhead Group Observer Group (MSGOG) reported incidents of men voting for family members or voters using other people’s names to vote₈₈. In 2022, IFES interlocutors cited family voting as the primary obstacle that women voters face and that patriarchal social and cultural norms are the reason why husbands, as the heads of households, along with other family members, do not want women to vote. 

Transparency International Papua New Guinea noted that most voters in the Highlands were men. Bloc voting was accepted as normal, and young men would collect and fill out 200 to 300 ballot papers. In this way, women and other vulnerable groups, such as people with disabilities and elderly people, were effectively disenfranchised. 

Separate Lines for Women
PNGEC instructed the presiding officers of polling stations to provide separate entrances and polling booths for men and women to enable women to vote without the influence of men₈₉.  TIPNG noted that 76.4 percent of locations observed did provide separate voting booths for women₉₀. This was a significant improvement since 2017, when only 29.9 percent of polling places were observed to provide separate voting booths for each sex₉₁. In 2022, separate polling areas for men and women were used in 60 percent of polling stations in the Highlands, 76 percent in the New Guinea Islands, 79 percent in Momase, and 86 percent in the Southern region₉₂. 

TIPNG observers found that separate polling booths or entrances to polling places increased the likelihood of women voting mostly without interference by 71 percent, demonstrating that this practice is effective₉₃. However, in some cases, TIPNG observed crowds around women’s lines, suggesting that intimidation and influence were still likely. The MSGOG noted the overwhelming presence of scrutineers at some polling stations, such as the Sir Ignatius Kilage Indoor Stadium in Lae, and that some of those scrutineers tried to influence and interfere in the voting process₉₄. While some presiding officers at polling stations provided separate lines and polling booth instructions, the COG noted that lines for women and men at some polling stations were close together, creating opportunities and potential to intimidate women voters₉₅. At other polling stations, queues were separate, but women and men used the same check-in desks and polling booths. And at some polling stations, voting booths were positioned back-to-back, and voters could watch those using the adjacent booths. The COG observed other opportunities for the coercion of women voters even when separate lines and polling booths were provided. For example, women voters were assisted to vote more frequently than men (and were assisted by men); men wrote the names of candidates on the hands of women voters; and women carried cards with instructions on how to vote₉₆. The MSGOG observed instances, close to the end of voting, of more than one voter using a polling booth at the same time₉₇. More than one in four (26 percent) of KII and FGD respondents felt that polling stations were still unsafe for women; half of those respondents cited intimidation as the reason. 

Bribery and intimidation
Several parties alleged that MPs used government resources for campaigning, although the lack of transparency in accounting for funds made this hard to verify₉₈.  The Ombudsman Commission issued a directive to freeze public funds controlled by Parliamentarians starting at the official opening of the campaign period in April 2022. After the election, the commission reported that unusually large amounts of money were withdrawn from parliamentary accounts in the 30 days before the freeze went into effect₉₉.

The TIPNG 2022 Observer Report noted that in a little over one-fourth of polling places, bribery and intimidation of voters was reported, similar to 2017₁₀₀. Such incidents were observed to occur up to three times more often in the Highlands than in other regions. COG also reported observing bribery and candidates’ agents distributing money and food to voters during voting₁₀₁.

Women leaders and candidates told IFES they were concerned about “money politics” (e.g., vote buying) and wanted to resist this practice. While women candidates were hopeful that voters would recognize the importance of a clean campaign, some reported that voters requested money prior to Election Day in return for their votes. Money politics disadvantages women because they do not have the same amount of campaign funds as male candidates and cannot distribute as much money and as men candidates to win votes—even if they wish to. Changing the culture of patronage politics will be an uphill battle that requires changing incentives for politicians, including candidates. This can be approached in a number of ways; one is for CSOs to promote civic and voter education to build demand for leadership that benefits everyone. Demand should exist for district funding to be used accountably and transparently to benefit communities throughout representatives’ time in office. The DFAT-funded Building Community Engagement in PNG Program is built around this theory of change. 

Barriers to Women Candidates and MPs
The PNG Constitution guarantees equal rights for women, and there are no legal barriers to their standing for election. However, the country’s deeply rooted patriarchal culture impedes their full participation in political life. The majority of IFES respondents stated that women face different challenges than their male counterparts—most often saying that the family does not support women’s candidacy. Respondents added that women do not support candidates of their own sex. Thus, men demean women candidates are and women gossip about them. Unlike men, they must contend with a public focus on their private lives. Additionally, women have less money for campaigning than men, do not receive the same degree of community support, and are less competitive due to cultural biases. Threats to physical security also affect women differently—most notably, due to high, credible threats of sexual violence. Traditional social relations and expectations also may increase restrictions on women, such as not traveling at night, the need to hire drivers, and the cultural expectation to travel with family members.

Women Speaking Out Against Undemocratic Practices 
Women not only passively experienced electoral violations that disadvantaged them; female candidates publicly in 2022 condemned undemocratic practices during polling and counting in Enga and Jiwaka provinces.  They were joined by former MP for Eastern Highlands Province Julie Soso, NGOs, and more than 100 women leaders who protested their deprivation of the right to vote due to corruption, violence, and intimidation by male candidates and their supporters. Some women candidates in Port Moresby used their social media platforms to call corrupt electoral officials, candidates and their supporters to account₁₀₃. 

Women Election Officials, State Security Officials, and Scrutineers
In 2022, COG and MSGOG observers noted that, in many polling places, women played important roles as polling and counting officials and as state security agency officers₁₀₄. Party scrutineers were more likely to be men. Women scrutineers told COG observers that they distanced themselves from male scrutineers to avoid intimidation.
 

Campaign Period
Gun violence during elections is a persistent and growing problem. During the 2022 campaign period, election-related violence claimed the lives of 30 people₁₀₅,  less than half of the 70 deaths during the 2017 campaign period but still a significant number₁₀₆.  The first election death in 2022, the shooting of an election officer, was in early May in Western Highlands province. Gun culture has grown in PNG in recent years. Weapons used include shotguns and illegal military-grade weapons₁₀₇.  Ph.D. candidate Michael Kabuni noted that most election-related deaths in 2017 were due to gun violence₁₀₈. Even when gun violence does not provoke severe wider-scale conflict (as discussed below), it deters women from exercising their political rights due to concerns over public safety. Women and children were disproportionately impacted by campaign violence in East Sepik province when an entire settlement was burned to the ground after a fight broke out at a candidates’ volleyball game. 

Private and Public Violence Against Women Voters
IFES asked interlocutors if women voters face different obstacles than men and, if so, what kind. In their responses, 90 percent commented on barriers to voting, such as family and bloc voting, and that polling stations were unsafe for women. Only 10 percent mentioned private issues such as emotional and economic violence from a spouse or other family members. When IFES asked if women voters experience different types of violence than men voters, the majority noted instances of private violence such as verbal harassment and threats by men in their family, and physical violence by family members. This may imply a perception that private violence is more prevalent than individual reports may point to and that women may be unwilling to discuss private violence. Few respondents to this question mentioned public violence. Examples of public violence included houses set on fire, sexual harassment, and physical attacks. 

During voting in Enga province in 2022, gunmen killed 18 people₁₀₉.  Spillover effects of gun violence in the province included the destruction of schools, homes, vegetable gardens, livestock, and medical facilities, forcing internal displacement (largely of women and children), according to the United Nations. Deliberate damage to roads and bridges impeded entrance to the affected areas by police, military, and relief workers. During this wider-scale violence, the United Nations₁₁₀ received reports of GBV against women and girls₁₁₁. In Enga, GBV was instigated by known candidates who attacked opposition candidates and their supporters to influence a favorable outcome, according to PNG Police Commissioner Manning₁₁₂. In other parts of the Highlands, village women left their homes early to vote without intimidation, but a group of armed young men chased them away₁₁₃.  The lack of law and order during the elections in the Highlands threatens not only women and children, but democracy writ large in PNG. 

Private and Public Violence Against Women Candidates
IFES asked interlocutors whether women face different challenges than men and whether women candidates experience different types of violence, including threats of violence than men do. The answers to both questions were similar; most respondents cited private violence more frequently than public violence. Private violence included emotional abuse, threats, and harassment by family members. Public violence included verbal abuse and defamation₁₁₄.  This suggests that women candidates are more likely to experience private violence than public violence during the electoral cycle. 

SARV
Diviners or seers (glasman or glasmeri) have accused villages or groups of sorcery for voting contrary to the wishes of politicians who had a claim on their loyalty through clan affiliation or vote buying. This can result in election violence. In recognition of the problem, an amendment to the Criminal Act outlawed glasman or glasmeri, creating greater accountability for SARV₁₁₅.   

Reporting acts of violence against women in elections
IFES field research found that the police force’s lack of efficacy in bringing justice to survivors of GBV has a significant impact on women’s willingness to report VAWE. Even when they do, they do not expect to receive justice. About one in four IFES interlocutors noted that women voters would report VAWE, but some added that neither the police nor the courts would take action. A FGD respondent described reporting VAWE to a special task force: “The police in East New Britain set up a special investigation task force to address election-related matters. I had a discussion/meeting with a female candidate who raised a complaint about a male candidate belittling her by saying negative things about her.”

The majority of respondents stated that women voters would be very unlikely to (35 percent) or definitely would not report VAWE (41 percent) because the police would do nothing (29 percent); they were afraid to report VAWE or felt it was safer not to do so (18 percent); or they were too embarrassed to report VAWE (12 percent). When asked if women candidates would report VAWE, 90 percent said they would be very unlikely to do so or definitely would not, because the police do nothing and the reporting system is broken. Women’s lack of access to justice undermines their agency and ability to combat VAWE.