Rabaul women march against crime, violence
By ELIZABETH VUVU
THE women folk of Kombiu local level government near Rabaul took to the streets on Remembrance Day to protest the ongoing acts of violence against them in the area. They demanded the Government to address the problem.
About 100 women from Matalau, Rakunat, Rabuana, Korere No. 1 and 2 villages, marched from Korere to Rabuana where they presented their petition to the LLG president Komit Kunai.
Spokeswoman for the group, Marcia Frank said they were sick and tired of the oppressive acts done against them by youths in their villages who were under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
She claimed that the widespread viewing of pornographic materials in the villages by male youths, with the consumption of marijuana had resulted in a few rape cases.
It was not known whether these rape cases had been reported to police.
Mrs Frank added that the use of abusive language was also common.
“We want peace and harmony to prevail in our villages.
As these acts of violence also affect our kids, we cannot sit down and turn a blind eye on them.
“Women are scared to go out at night to attend church services,” she said.
Mr Kunai, when receiving the petition, questioned whether the ward law and order committees were performing their duties.
He said law and order problems could not be completely eradicated but could be minimised if people in the communities stood together and fight the problems.
He promised the women that their petition would be looked into and said he would see to it that actions were taken to sort out the problems highlighted in the petition.
Rabaul acting police station commander Ronnie Neai apologised to the women for the lack of police patrols in the Kombiu area because of logistical problems.
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