Emergencies and gender-based violence
When disasters strike, the ability for communities to access safe spaces, health services, and support networks are severely limited. When the devastating landslide occurred in Papua New Guinea’s Mulitaka region in May 2024, the sudden displacement, trauma, and loss exacerbated vulnerabilities, especially for women and girls.
The humanitarian community rapidly responded sending and distributing humanitarian assistance, including Dignity Kits through the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) which provided women and girls with essential hygiene items, underwear, and other items to support their dignity, health, and reduce vulnerability to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) risks.
As part of this, Victoria was deployed as a GBV Sub-Sector Coordinator to UNFPA, where she works with the government and humanitarian organisations to strengthen their ability to coordinate prevent, mitigate, and respond to GBV in emergencies.
Disproportionate impact
The impacts between men and women following a disaster are different. Access to menstrual hygiene management supplies can be limited, particularly in isolated areas like Mulitaka: ‘I looked at some of the information that was shared at that time from women who were there, or who are from the affected communities,’ said Victoria.
‘One of them said that the nearest shop for a woman to go get menstrual hygiene pads was in a town 3 hours away and the bus fare to go there would cost K60 (23 AUD), which is completely out of reach for people.’
High levels of stress and the trauma of displacement and loss also exacerbate the risk of GBV in post-disaster environments: ‘The living conditions have an impact on everyone,’ remarked Victoria. ‘People have lost their livelihoods, they’ve lost their property, they’ve lost family members and community… It creates a general level of stress, which increases the risk of intimate partner violence and other forms of domestic violence.’
'People have lost their livelihoods, they’ve lost their property, they’ve lost family members and community… It creates a general level of stress, which increases the risk of intimate partner violence and other forms of domestic violence.’
Coordinate, prioritise, respond
Globally, Papua New Guinea has one of the highest rates of GBV. Addressing GBV in Papua New Guinea poses unique challenges. The country’s rugged geography and dispersed population make service delivery logistically complex, particularly in remote or disaster-affected areas. Limited infrastructure, resource constraints, and communication barriers often hinder the reach of support services, making coordination between GBV actors across different sectors crucial.
As the GBV Sub-Sector Coordinator, Victoria’s work has centred on bringing together government agencies, non-governmental organisations, and community groups to ensure a unified and effective response to GBV in emergency situations. This has focused on supporting efforts to map services and clarify referral pathways. By fostering collaboration and information-sharing through the GBV Sub-Sector coordination mechanism, actors in various parts of the country can connect, reduce duplication of efforts, and improve survivors’ access to the support they need.
Do No Harm
In addition to this, training for frontline GBV workers and responders from other sectors, such as defence personnel and police has been critical. This is to ensure all actors in a humanitarian response can confidently safeguard affected communities, provide safe and accessible services, and champion survivor support.
Victoria delivered an essential session on Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies (GBViE) at the Disaster Management Workshop in Lae, Morobe Province in June 2025, which equipped government personnel, and key stakeholders—including the PNG Defence Force—with vital knowledge on GBV risks in humanitarian settings and reinforced the critical responsibility to “do no harm.”
Her expertise has also contributed to the Disaster Management Team in PNG, ensuring their contingency plans are updated and early warning systems are strengthened. This is to ensure GBV risks and response are systematically considered in broader disaster preparedness and recovery planning.
National Gender-Based Violence Strategy
As part of Victoria’s deployment, she’s also had the opportunity to provide technical expertise to Papua New Guinea’s forthcoming National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender Based Violence (2026 – 2035). Review of the current strategy, which commenced in 2024, had a strong emphasis on community consultation and listening to people with lived experiences from across the country.
This has sparked hope and optimism: ‘Data collected during the strategy review indicate that GBV is increasing, that it’s getting worse. Unless something is done, it will continue to have a huge impact on the economy of the country, the health system, the justice system and other services,’ said Victoria. ‘The review is strategically important, in terms of bringing up-to-date evidence; and relevant evidence that can be used for actual change in resource allocation and to hold the government accountable,’ said Victoria.
In March 2025, Victoria also witnessed an historic moment in Papua New Guinea’s Parliament, the first-ever Special Parliamentary Session on Equality and Women’s Empowerment in which evidence from the GBV strategy review was presented: ‘The debate on the floor of the House on the 18th of March ended up going for 4 or 5 hours. Parliamentarians were providing experiences from their electorate and personal experiences. Everyone was very shocked by the findings of the strategy review,’ recalled Victoria.
‘That day, it felt momentous, and it felt like something had shifted, hopefully. Even just the openness with which people were talking about it… I think everyone was generally very proud and quite excited by the idea that things can start to change.’
'Data collected during the strategy review indicate that GBV is increasing, that it’s getting worse. Unless something is done, it will continue to have a huge impact on the economy of the country.'
Disclaimer: The information and views published here are the individual’s own and do not necessarily represent the partner organisation, Australia Assists or the Australian Government’s views, positions or opinions.