United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024, Online Edition. Estimates 2024.
Proportion of ever-partnered women aged 15-49 years experiencing intimate partner physical and/or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime. Source: National Statistical Office (NSO) [Papua New Guinea] and ICF. 2019. Papua New Guinea Demographic and Health Survey 2016-18. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, and Rockville, Maryland, USA: NSO and ICF.
Proportion of ever-partnered women aged 15-49 years experiencing intimate partner physical and/or sexual violence in the last 12 months. Source: National Statistical Office (NSO) [Papua New Guinea] and ICF. 2019. Papua New Guinea Demographic and Health Survey 2016-18. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, and Rockville, Maryland, USA: NSO and ICF.
The Committee draws the attention of the State party to the in-depth study of the Secretary-General on all forms of violence against women (A/61/122/Add.1 and Corr.1) and urges the State party to take note of its contents and to give priority attention to the enactment and implementation of a comprehensive legal framework addressing all forms of violence against women in conformity with the Committee's general recommendation No. 19. It also calls upon the State party to take steps to ensure that traditional apologies are abolished and to raise public awareness, including through the mass media and education programmes, that all forms of violence against women, including domestic and sexual violence, are a form of discrimination under the Convention and are unacceptable. The Committee further calls upon the State party to ensure that women and girls who are victims of violence have access to immediate and effective means of redress and protection, including shelters and safe houses. The Committee recommends the implementation of training for the judiciary and public officials, in particular law enforcement personnel and health-service providers, in order to ensure that they are sensitized to all forms of violence against women and can provide adequate support to victims. It further recommends that the State party enhance its data-collection efforts and establish a monitoring and evaluation mechanism in order to regularly assess the impact and effectiveness of measures aimed at preventing and redressing violence against women. It invites the State party to seek international assistance in its efforts to put in place such a comprehensive response. Furthermore, it urges the State party to take necessary measures to ensure that custodial violence by officials, including acts of sexual abuse of women and girls, are prosecuted and punished as grave crimes.
The Committee urges the State party to take immediate and effective measures to investigate the incidences of torture and killings of women and girls, especially old women, based on accusations of witchcraft or sorcery, to prosecute and punish the perpetrators of such acts and to prevent their reoccurrence in the future. The Committee calls on the State party to accelerate its review of the law on sorcery and sorcery-related killings and to strengthen the enforcement of relevant legislation. The Committee urges the State party to strengthen its awareness-raising and educational efforts, targeted at both women and men, with the support of civil society and the involvement of community and village chiefs and religious leaders, to eliminate this practice.
The Committee urges the State party to harmonize its civil, religious and customary law with article 16 of the Convention and to accelerate reform in respect of the laws relating to marriage and family relations in order to bring its legislative framework into compliance with articles 15 and 16 of the Convention. Such a process should be participatory and include local community and religious leaders, as well as women from civil society. The Committee calls on the State party to raise the minimum age for marriage to 18 years of age for both males and females, in line with international standards. The Committee also calls upon the State party to implement measures aimed at eliminating polygamy, in line with the Committee's general recommendation No. 21 on equality in marriage and family relations. In addition, the Committee recommends that the State party immediately undertake research on marriage and its dissolution, including inheritance, to inform on reform strategies.
The Committee calls on the State party to prepare and adopt a legislative framework on trafficking in human beings, including the prevention of trafficking, the timely prosecution and punishment of traffickers, the provision of protection from traffickers/agents and quality support and programmes for victims. The Committee requests the State party to include information and data in its next report on the prevalence of the exploitation of prostitution and trafficking. The Committee encourages the State party to conduct studies and surveys for this purpose and to seek international assistance as required. The Committee also encourages the State party to accelerate the process of ratifying the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the Convention. The Committee urges further cooperation with countries of origin on measures for the prevention and prosecution of trafficking as well as protection of victims.
The Constitution does not contain provisions on violence against women and girls. It provides for equality before the law.
There is no standalone law addressing all forms of violence against women and girls. There is, however, a Family protection Act, 2013.
National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender based Violence, 2016-2025.