Official points out holistic bottom-up approach

The issue of gender-based and sorcery-related violence is reaching epidemic proportions in the country and is very bad for the development and growth of the nation, according to an advocate.
James Sakul, manager of the Goroka-based Meri Safe Haus, said a holistic bottom-up approach in advocating and bringing awareness directly into the communities would help to bring about change.
He said this would make people understand better the consequences of gender-based and sorcery-related violence on both victims and perpetrators.
Sakul said the bulk of the population in rural areas were still ignorant and did not know the consequences of gender and sorcery-related violence.
“When an educated and well-informed, the community mobilises to achieve something, it works for the better for the community,” he said.
Sakul said they recently provided temporary accommodation to victims of sorcery-related violence.
He said the victims, mostly female, had been accused of using sorcery to kill children and remove ballot papers from ballot boxes to make a candidate lose in the recent election.
“We need to involve ward members, ward women leaders, youth leaders, church leaders, community leaders and public servants based in the wards to carry out awareness,” Sakul said.