SHP must do more for women

SOUTHERN Highlands women endure some of the most extreme levels of violence in the world.
They continue to be attacked with impunity despite the Government’s much herald promises of justice.
This situation can be described as a humanitarian disaster yet still does not receive the broader public attention it deserves, inside or outside Southern Highlands.
It is also a significant obstacle to its human development and prosperity.
Over the past decades, gender based violence in the province has escalated enormously and most of the victims are women and the perpetrators are the men.
The data on violence in Southern Highlands is patchy and scarce.
Many assaults within families are never reported, and many victims of attacks outside the home consider reporting them to be a waste of time.
The most common form of gender-based violence (GBV) is in the domestic sphere which occurs in the family between the wife and the husband, children and one example is forced marriage which most of these cases did not report to the police.
There are many opposites happening at this stage in our country, while we have increasing law and order problems, the judiciary have a duty to play its significant part by making a perfect ruling on the cases rather than favouring and corruption.
Surveys are often years out of date and sterile, scrubbed clean of misery, identity, and humanity and the GBV in the province will remain as long as the society exists but can be eradicated if people mindset is change.
The Southern Highlands government has not done enough to topple this issue by enforcing its law and order, empower police personnel and use other avenues that will help alleviate this social phenomenon and at this juncture, it needs helping hands from other organisations to battling this social phenomenon.
My views to address this social issue is for all districts governments, NGOs and other multilateral or partner organisation to provide prevention and support services such as safe house.
Women only accommodation with security and sometimes access to counselling and other support services
There has to be professional counselling and support – phone and face to face counselling for GBV victims develop counselling and training programs for a range of service providers.
There has to be physical health care provision for survivors and support with cost
There has been informal peer mentoring coaching. Conversation and advice from peers and un-trained colleagues.
Awareness raising and information sharing – educating working staff, students and the public about GBV and how and where to get help.
Provide legal support – get advice from lawyers, police support to investigate and prosecute perpetrators
Advocacy and communication – advocate on the status of women, the vulnerable, and for the reduction of GBV related violence through posters, pamphlets, social media, and theatre productions that focus on the effects of GBV on families, children and the community, and provide information about the legislation and related penalties.
Therefore, this can be implemented by the government in partnership with other organisations such as corporate institutions like oil search, NGOs and the multilateral agencies to topple the issues once and forever.
The provincial government in Southern Highlands have for decades failed the people of the province so much and this coming
2022 election is a golden opportunity in which we the proletarian citizen can vote out this great crocodile.
For 18 years, this crocodile has consumed most of the province’s wealth and there is no tangible development in the province.
All we achieved were distorted development results.

Davies Juliuz
Pumburel village, Nembi Plato