2mil children face violence

A RECENT report has estimated that up to 75 per cent (2.8 million) of the child population in PNG experience violent discipline at home.
The report also showed that sexual violence was high with more than half of the cases referred to medical clinics in Port Moresby and Tari being against children.
In response, the Pikinini Defenders Campaign was launched and, joined by Save the Children to focuses on increasing the number of child protection officers in the country.
The campaign called on the Government to make a commitment to fund 300 new child protection officers in the 2020 Budget.
These officers will be based in districts and provinces and mandated by law to manage cases of child abuse or at-risk children.
Save the Children Pacific regional director Jennifer El-Sibai welcomed Pikinini Defenders as the first locally-led campaign to address child abuse.
She said it presented a tangible opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of PNG children.
El-Sibai said the rate of violence against children in PNG was at a crisis level and that it was up to everyone – individuals, organisations and the Government – to step up and take action.
She said while PNG had a range of existing laws and policies to protect children, including the 2015 Lukautim Pikinini Act, State budget allocations had been insufficient to implement the act’s key components.