Statistics show sorcery, gender violence rising

By MARJORIE FINKEO
CRIME statistics show that gender-based violence and sorcery-accusation violence in PNG are taking an extraordinary high toll compared to fighting, graffiti and homicide cases in recent years.
A Department of Justice and Attorney-General’s final report shows that the issues happened throughout communities and the authorities were finding solutions and ideas on how they could be prevented or eliminated.
Department Secretary Dr Eric Kwa said law and order did not seem to be improving every year but “going backwards”, and the department and development partners needed to review where they were now.
“Communities are no longer safe, young girls and women need to walk around freely without being attacked and in fear,” Kwa said.
According to the report, substance abuses, illegal homebrew, violence against women and children, rape, adultery, carnal knowledge and other crimes compounded gender and sorcery-related violence.
Kwa said the Government’s objective was to plan development strategies and have a national target to reduce the crime rate from 80 per cent to 40 per cent by 2022 to create a conductive environment for economic growth. He said some of the solutions the government needed to look at included the targeted population of youths who were causing problems in communities – to engage them in training programmes and providing them employment.
“Technical and vocational training, agriculture, churches and other non-government organisation activities can keep them away from criminal activities,” Kwa said.