NGO leads gender campaign

STAKEHOLDERS in Port Moresby involved in the fight against gender-based violence (GBV) came together yesterday to mark another significant milestone in the campaign.
As part of the Population Services International’s (PSI) Safe Village Pilot and Family Support Centre (FSC) assistance project in NCD, community groups and key government departments representing youth, women’s councils, education, village courts and markets united with PSI and other stakeholders to end GBV in PNG.
PSI communications and marketing director Shannon McVey told The National that the FSC assistance project was aimed at reducing GBV and addressing inequalities in targeted communities.
“We have funding to work in supporting GBV projects here in NCD and one of our key projects is supporting the FSC at the Port Moresby General Hospital,” she said.
“So we’re doing that in a number of ways.
“One is raising awareness about FSC in the community and helping people understand how to access this service and what services are available.”
She said the people who knew the best places to do awareness and run projects were working in their communities.
“We’ve got women’s council representatives here from the 12 wards. We’ve got the new human rights defenders, and we’ve got youth representatives from across the city working with Yoga for Life, gender desk and a number of other key community groups to identify and plan how we can address GBV in the city.
“The key focus around raising awareness and access to the FSC         and understanding what services are available is very important.
“We know that not a lot of people understand, some think that it costs money to attend this kind of awareness programmes but it doesn’t. All services of FSC are free.”