WUNRN
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – FAMILY HEALTH & SAFETY STUDY
SUMMARY - GENDER
Direct Link to Full 30-Page 2014 Report: http://preventgbvafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/FHSS-Bougainville-Summary.pdf
General Characteristics of the Men and Women
Interviewed
Most of the men and women in the study
had been to school for some time, but more than half had not
entered secondary school. Only 1 in 10
men and 1 in 12 women had some tertiary education. Two-thirds
of the men and women were currently
married or living with their partner. Child marriage was quite
common among the group, and about 1 in
6 women had married before they were 18 years old. Most of that
group had married at 16 or 17 years
old but about 1 in 20 of the women interviewed had married before
age 16. About 1 in 20 of the men had
also married under age 18. Half of the women interviewed and three
quarters of the men had worked in the
last year, mostly in fishing or farming. Men were largely the main
provider at home, but in about a third
of households men and women said they shared providing equally
with their partner. Only 14 per cent
of men reported earning more than 1000 kina (just over $400 USD)
per month, but less than one in ten said people went without food at home each month
Pregnancy and Mortality
The maternal mortality rate in Papua
New Guinea is estimated at 230 per 100,000 and in
Bougainville the rate is estimated to
be up to three times higher. Family sizes are generally large with
women on average having about five
children. This means that women have between a 1 in 100 and 1
in 30 chance of dying in childbirth.
Most women interviewed had had their
first child after the age of 18. Young teenage pregnancies are a
concern as they are a higher risk to
the mother and baby and disrupt schooling. One in 12 women had
given birth before age 18. Overall, one in five had ever had a
miscarriage.
Conclusion
Findings of this study reaffirm that
there are high levels of trauma among the people of Bougainville,
resulting from their experiences
during the period of the conflict on the island. The findings confirm
that a large number of Bougainvilleans
experienced trauma during the conflict and many are still
experiencing and using violence in
their life today. Prevention of violence of all forms, including
violence against women and girls, is
essential for building peace, security and development on the
island.
Effective prevention and response to
violence against women and girls requires comprehensive
strategies and long-term commitment
and coordination among actors from a wide range of sectors.
Prevention and response plans for
violence against women should include multiple and interlinked
interventions that are based on local data
and coordinated in a strategic manner. Violence prevention
plans should be integrated into the
larger social development, gender-equality and human rights plans
and frameworks.
Ending violence against women and
girls requires their full empowerment and removing the
discrimination that they face in all
aspects of their lives. New models of manhood that are healthy and
peaceful and based on equality and
respect must be promoted. The recommendations presented here
aspire towards a future Bougainville
in which:
· Violence against women is never
acceptable and women and men are equally valued
· Healthy, non-violent and equitable
ways of being men are the most common and accepted forms
of masculinity
· All children grow up in a healthy,
safe and stable environment, in which non-violent conflict
resolution among couples and
their children is the norm
· Social norms for male sexuality
include consent, compassion and respect for women’s choices and
bodies, and these norms are
nurtured from childhood onwards
· Perpetrators are held accountable and
face social and legal consequences; all forms of non-consensual
sex are criminalized, including
marital rape
· Violence against women prevention
policies and programmes are based on local data and respond
to the specific patterns and
drivers of different types of violence in each context.