Collaboration vital to end violence: Bais

IT IS important that the State and churches partner to end violence in families and communities, Department of Community Development, Youth and Religion secretary Anna Bais says.
She said this during a women’s conference in Port Moresby yesterday.
The theme of the conference was ‘Women as Nation Builders – Women the Change Makers’.
The State-Church partnership women’s conference discussed ways to end all forms of violence in families and communities in the country.
She said on Oct 15 the department signed a partnership with churches to end violence.
Bais said there were strategies designed to address violence and the department was taking a holistic approach to address this issue.
She said one of Government’s challenges was looking for safe homes for the victims.
Bais said some churches were providing safe houses for the survivors, women and children.
She encouraged churches to provide more safe houses for survivors so they could receive spiritual advice and guidance.
Bais said the other partnerships that the department had with the churches was in rehabilitation and counselling.