Findings on family, sexual violence

 By LEAH OMAE

FAMILY and sexual violence has been a problem in the country for ages but only recently has it been addressed, it has been revealed.

Medecins Sans Frontieres has released its findings on how family and sexual violence had been tackled in the country and suggested ways to combat it.

The non-government  organisation has been treating people affected by family and sexual violence since December 2007.

It has treated more than 18,000 individuals with emergency medical and psychological care in Lae, Tari and Port Moresby.

These include women, children and men who had been raped, beaten and physically or sexually violated by family members, spouses, partners and parents.

The report said: “Since MSF and partners began working with family and sexual violence in PNG, there has been a real progress. 

According to a report, its experience of providing medical care for survivors of family sexual violence in Lae, Tari and now Port Moresby has brought to light a range of challenges that health providers faced in responding to family and sexual violence.

“But to overcome those challenges, a quality medical response with effective community awareness could deliver strong benefits for survivors by providing them with essential curative and preventive care.

“At the same time services in collecting valuable data that make a key contribution to longer terms efforts to tackle the family sexual violence emergency in the country.”

In 2013, the National Department of Health with the World Health Organisation, Family and SexualViolence Action Committee, MSF and other partners published guidelines for provincial health authorities to establish hospital-based family support centres.