Sexual violence against women
and girls is commonplace in Papua New Guinea (PNG). While the experiences of
women are rightly given central place in institutional responses to sexual
violence, the men who perpetrate violence are often overlooked, an oversight
that undermines the effectiveness of prevention efforts.
This paper draws on
interviews conducted with young men as part of a qualitative longitudinal study
of masculinity and male sexuality in a rural highland area of PNG. It explores
one aspect of male sexuality: men's narratives of sexual violence. Most
striking from the data is that the collective enactment of sexual violence
against women and girls is reported as an everyday and accepted practice
amongst young men. However, not all women and girls were described as equally
at risk, with those who transgress gender roles and roles inscribed and
reinforced by patriarchal structures, at greater risk.
To address this
situation, efforts to reduce sexual violence against women and girls require an
increased focus on male-centred intervention to critically engage with the
forms of patriarchal authority that give license to sexual violence.
Understanding the perceptions and experiences of men as perpetrators of sexual
violence is a critical first step in the process of changing normative
perceptions of gender, a task crucial to reducing sexual violence in countries
such as PNG.
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By:
- 1 Sexual and Reproductive and Maternal Health Unit , Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research , Goroka , Papua New Guinea.
- 2 Kirby Institute, UNSW Australia , Sydney , Australia.
- 3 School of Political Science and International Studies , University of Queensland , St Lucia , Australia.
- 4 State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program , Australian National University , Canberra , Australia.
- 5 School of Public Health , University of Queensland , Herston , Australia.
- Cult Health Sex. 2016 Jun 2:1-14.
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