Law to deal with abuse

 By MOUA OMOA

THE family protection bill when it becomes law will ensure perpetrators of domestic violence will be properly charged and dealt with, an official said.

Family sexual violence action committee national programme coordinator Ume Wainetti said currently there were no laws governing domestic violence.

Those accused of bashing up their partners are charged with 

common assault.

“Domestic violence is everybody’s business. Now the law is going to confirm that it is everybody’s business and we are really happy that the bill has been approved by the national executive council because it is an initiative of family sexual violence action committee,” she said.

“The family protection bill encompasses a lot of things which cover all forms of abuse including mental, physical or verbal abuse.”

She said it would enable various charges to be laid against perpetrators and accommodate interim protection orders and complement the Yumi Lukautim Pikinini Act.

“It is called family protection because it focuses on family and victims can be either female, male or even children,” she said.

“A wife can report her husband if he is not giving her money or constantly bashing her up or a man can report his wife for verbal abuse (coarse language) and the appropriate charges will be laid against her.

Allan Gene, the regional coordinator for the gender and development branch of the department of community development said the law gave prominence to establishing good family relations based 

on trust.

“Currently, there is no law on domestic violence and to pass the family protection bill will help resolve a lot of related issues,” he said.