Define types of violence

By SHIRLYN BELDEN
DIFFERENTIATING types of violence and imposing tougher laws and penalties can be practical measures to reduce the high rate of violence on women and girls in PNG, Sohe parliamentarian Delilah Gore said yesterday.
Gore made the remarks relating to the Safe Cities programme that was launched on Monday at the Gordon market in Port Moresby to promote creating and maintaining violence-free and women empowering opportunities.
“Such development programmes must be conducted to expose the reality and see where appropriate measures can be taken,” she said.
“Categorising the violence caused on women and girls will assist to create and impose appropriate and tougher laws and penalties for the perpetrators.
“These laws should be looked at differently. That is primarily to protect the women, girls, children and elderly who are mostly affected by harassment, intimidation or any form of violence,” she said.
Gore said these laws and penalties must be imposed strongly by authorities.
She said as a woman leader she was given the mandate in public office to “talk on this that it should stop and we want it to stop”.
She said leaders and government departments must support development partners like churches and non-government organisations to implement such supportive programmes and ensure that the right thing was done to combat rising crime.
The Safe Cities programme, facilitated by the United Nations  Women’s PNG office and government departments, started on Monday and ended yesterday.
It carried a special section yesterday where women vendors appealed to youths and the government to help them become productive, free and safe participants when using public facilities and space without violence.