Safe houses are vital, community-based, refuges offering temporary accommodation and recovery support for – primarily – women and children.
Through the Australia–Papua New Guinea Law and Justice Partnership, numerous safe houses in the country were given grants under the Community Justice Fund (APLJ CJF), to ensure continuity in their role in the referral pathways network of services that help survivors access justice and holistic care.
As part of this support, a learning event was held recently in Port Moresby, bringing together safe house operators, civil society organisations, advocates, and the GBV Secretariat to identify practical strategies for improving support to survivors of GBV, including Sorcery Accusation-Related Violence (SARV).
Participants included safe house service providers from the National Capital District (NCD), Enga, Madang and representatives from the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Secretariat.
Despite their importance, many safe houses operate under challenging conditions with limited resources. Presentations highlighted findings from the GBV Secretariat’s recent national mapping of safe house services and shared insights from three APLJ CJF grant partners trialing a rapid response fund for emergency and priority needs.
Group discussions focused on:
• Disability inclusion in survivor support
• Strengthening collaboration among referral pathway partners, including police and medical services
• The importance of counselling and psychosocial support for survivors and staff
• Community education and awareness
“This event gave us a space to talk openly about what’s working and where we face challenges,” said one safe house manager. “Meeting others working in this space reminded me that I am not alone.”
The GBV Secretariat gave an update to participants on the efforts to develop minimum standards for safe houses, aiming to improve the quality and consistency of GBV support services.
“The mapping exercise is a step forward. It encourages safe houses to adopt standard operating procedures and policies that strengthen their work. Safe houses are the first and most important partner in the referral pathway,” the spokesperson said.
This learning event is the first in a planned series designed to bring together frontline law and justice champions to co-create local solutions to local challenges.
Group photo of participants from safe houses who attend the learning event.
For further information, including access to related materials, please contact the Australian High Commission media team: +675 7090 0100