The Permanent Parliamentary Committee on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment met yesterday to discuss the range of issues that women and girls in PNG encounter.
Chaired by NCD Governor Powes Parkop, the Committee has the mandate to review any and all laws, policies, programs and other issues related to ensuring that women and girls can live safe, healthy and prosperous lives.
Six of seven Committee Members came together at Parliament Haus yesterday for a briefing provided by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
UNDP previously supported the Special Parliamentary Committee on GBV to hold two public hearings and produce two reports to Parliament, with funding from the EU Spotlight Initiative.
The briefing by UNDP covered a wide range of GEWE issues, including the gaps in existing institutional structures, laws and policy frameworks guiding GEWE efforts, challenges with women’s leadership, priorities in relation to promoting women’s economic empowerment, the importance of ensuring women’s access to health and education services, and the ongoing challenges with properly addressing gender-based violence (GBV) and sorcery accusation related violence (SARV).
UNDP Resident Representative Dirk Wagener pledged ongoing support to the Committee, including through a new UNDP Parliamentary Strengthening Project funded by the Australian Government.
The Committee adjourned with a commitment to coming back together again in the coming weeks for a more detailed discussion on the core issues they want to address. They have tentatively agreed to dedicate their first public hearings to reviewing progress by Government to address GBV and SARV, with hearings likely to be held sometime in May 2023.
