New campaign focuses on women and children in Papua New Guinea

The new campaign aims to fund the refurbishment of The Salvation Army Women’s Refuge in Papua New Guinea.

BY KIRRALEE NICOLLE

The 2025-26 Making it Happen project has been announced, with the wellbeing of women and children experiencing family and domestic violence (FDV) in Papua New Guinea the focus of fundraising for the initiative.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is one of the most dangerous places to be a woman or girl, with more than 1.5 million people in the country experiencing gender-based violence per year.

The goal of the Making it Happen appeal is to raise $150,000 (AUD) to fund the refurbishment of The Salvation Army Women’s Refuge.

Salvation Army International Development’s (SAID) Special Projects Lead Major Jenny Begent says the refuge is in dire need of repairs to the paintwork, flooring and bathroom facilities, new furnishings and bedding, as well as an expansion to the facility to accommodate women with more than one child in their care.

Jenny says despite the challenges of the facility’s infrastructure, the staff at the centre were still doing amazing work. She says for women who are facing FDV, a refuge is often a last resort and making such a decision can be accompanied by a lot of shame.

“If women come into a safe space and feel welcome but also feel empowered and supported, then that's the best we can do in the first instance to lift their spirits a bit so that they get to a point where they [feel like] ‘actually, I can do this, I am in a safe space, it's only for a short time, and I will get through it’,” Jenny says.

“I think the physical environment adds to those feelings. The space being lovely and clean and welcoming – it all adds to their recovery and their ability to get some perspective to live beyond the violence.”

Jenny has a passion for those impacted by FDV following years of experience in the sector. She says she would also like to see the money go to providing a stronger resource base for women, including teaching life skills to women who have experienced FDV, education, training and a training module for corps officers to understand best practice for referrals. She says she would also like to see some more grassroots work with men, helping them to understand women’s rights, how to treat their partners well and how to appropriately care for their families.

She says PNG is not the only nation facing this issue, as Australia also has its own heartbreaking challenges in this area, with one Australian woman a week being killed by an intimate partner*.

“You just have to keep whittling away at it,” Jenny says. “I think if we can start that work, particularly with officers in PNG who really are embedded in their communities, then we've got a shot at changing communities.”

For more information on the project and how to give, click here

To go to The Salvation Army Family and Domestic Violence site, click here

*Source: The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reported that on average in 2023-24, one woman was killed every eight days by an intimate partner. To read more, go to https://www.aihw.gov.au/family-domestic-and-sexual-violence/responses-and-outcomes/domestic-homicide.