DPA Research Reports
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Item Open Access Experiencing the Public Sector: Pacific Women's Perspective(Canberra, ACT: Dept. of Pacific Affairs, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, The Australian National University, 2009) Haley, Nicole; Zubrinich, KerryThis report contains the findings arising from a short study undertaken to examine the experiences of women in the public sector across the Pacific. It is part of a much larger initiative aimed at improving the public sector capacity of Pacific Islands’ countries. One hundred women from six Pacific Island counties: Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu were invited to participate, 40 responded. All were senior or middle level public sector employees. Each respondent completed a short questionnaire concerning their: educational background; work history/career path; experiences in the workplace; domestic responsibilities and work/life balance; factors related to success; and leadership aspirations. Of the 40 respondents, 19 worked in central agencies (Treasury, Finance and Planning, Prime Minister and Cabinet, National Executive Council, and Justice) while 21 worked in line agencies. The youngest respondent was 26 years and the oldest was 59, with an even spread in between. Twenty three of the respondents were currently married, nine were divorced or separated, four were widowed and four were single. All but four (36/40) had children, and all but one (39/40) said they had additional dependents, with three quarters of the women surveyed (29/40) having more than 5 dependents. Every woman who participated was well educated and well qualified. They were all at least bi-lingual (often multi-lingual), well travelled and have attended international workshops, conferences, and short courses in order to enhance their skills and knowledge base. Some have travelled to Europe, Asia and the sub-continent in their capacities as senior public servants. In short they are bright, articulate and have a good understanding of what is happening around them (at work and at home). The real value of this study lies in the insight it provides into the working and home lives of female public sector employees across the Pacific. It provides a solid starting point in understanding just how women experience their workplaces and domestic situations and the challenges they face on a day to day basis. It paints a fairly grim picture of life in the public sector. For example the study reveals that female public sector employees are exposed to a range of abuses in the workplace, including verbal abuse, threats of violence and sexual harassment, as well as harassment from the wives and girlfriends of male colleagues. Many also grapple with political interference. The study also revealed women experience day to day difficulty at the interface of home and work. Travelling to and from work safely is an issue, and most find they are working two jobs – doing their paid work and maintaining their households with little domestic assistance. Many women reported that they are closely scrutinised by husbands and boyfriends and that they have experienced domestic violence because of the difficulties involved in balancing work and domestic responsibilities. Certainly being well educated and having good jobs had not protected this cohort of women from domestic violence. On a more positive note the study identifies factors that have contributed towards women’s success in the public sector. When asked about the most significant factors in their success, women listed: education, hard work, persistence and perseverance, supportive bosses and families, and Christian faith. In view of this and the other findings contained within this report we offer suggestions for further research. Entry points for donor engagement also emerge out of the key findings. These are outlined in the recommendations that follow.Item Open Access Building a Pathway for successful land reform in the Solomon Islands(The Australian National University, 2015) McDonnell, Siobhan; Foukona, Joseph D.; Pollard, AlisonThis Report highlights the need for a step by step development process for land reform efforts. Based on land reform experience in other Melanesian countries, it shows that a successful land reform process requires clear policy direction. The amending or writing of new land laws should be the final step of this land reform process, rather than the beginning. This report is a useful discussion document that we can draw on as we constructively engage in dialogue to create our own unique pathway for a successful land reform in Solomon Islands.Item Embargo Women's political and administrative leadership in the Pacific(Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 2016) Haley, Nicole; Zubrinich, KerryImproving women’s leadership and political participation has proved to be a key developmental challenge for Pacific Islands Countries, particularly the Melanesian countries (Barbara and Haley 2014:48). Since its inception the Australian Aid Program’s flagship gender equity initiative – Pacific Women (AusAID 2012) – has supported a range of activities aimed at improving and better understanding women’s leadership and decision making in the region (Pacific Women 2015). 1 Drawing upon this objective, and the available research and analytical work, this paper provides an overview of women’s political and administrative leadership in the Pacific. It has been prepared to inform forthcoming design work being undertaken by Pacific Women. The paper incorporates and expands upon an earlier concept note we prepared to inform the original Pacific Women design (Haley and Zubrinich 2012), and considers women’s leadership and participation as it relates to formal institutions and processes, including national and subnational government, the public sector and civic engagement (c.f. Domingo et.al. 2015; and McLeod’s (2015) political, administrative and civil society leadership)Item Open Access Improving the Electoral Chances of Pacific Women through an Evidence-based Approach(Canberra, ACT: Dept. of Pacific Affairs, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, 2016) Barbara, Julien; Baker, KerrynThis report draws on discussions that occurred at a three-day workshop hosted by the Centre for Democratic Institutions (CDI) and State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program (SSGM) at the Australian National University in Canberra in June 2016. The purpose of the workshop was to review the evidence base regarding lessons learned about successful campaigning, how women are positioned to run successful campaigns, and how development partners might enhance the effectiveness of support provided to women candidates by drawing on and responding to this evidence base. While the workshop focused on the Melanesian context — and Papua New Guinea (PNG), Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, in particular — it drew on lessons from other parts of the Pacific islands region and the findings of this synthesis report may be applicable more widely. The workshop was attended by a broad range of stakeholders, including campaign activists, women candidates, former and current sitting members of legislatures, development partners, NGOs, policymakers and academics from Melanesia and Australia. An annotated copy of the three-day workshop program is provided at Appendix A, with speaker names excluded. Discussions at the workshop were held on a Chatham House basis to encourage frank discussion. While the synthesis provided in this report draws on those discussions, this report reflects the analysis of the authors and should not be taken to reflect the views of attendees at the workshop. This report is supplemented by a series of framing papers which were presented at that workshop to inform focused workshop discussions and have been published as SSGM In Briefs in tandem with this report.Item Open Access Chega! Ten Years On: A Neglected National Resource : The Fate of the CAVR Final Report in Timor-Leste(Canberra, ACT: Dept. of Pacific Affairs, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, The Australian National University, 2016) Kent, Lia; Kinsella, Naomi; Tchailoro, Nuno RodriguesIt is now 10 years since the publication of Chega! (the final report of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation, known by its Portuguese acronym, ‘CAVR’). The CAVR was tasked with documenting human rights violations committed throughout Timor-Leste’s 24-year-long armed conflict and making recommendations on how to address the negative impact of the conflict, including measures to prevent its recurrence. This report presents the key findings of a project that assesses some dimensions of Chega!’s impact in Timor-Leste.1 The project consisted of two components. The first component examined how ‘key actors’ — defined as prominent figures in the government, parliament, education sector, Catholic Church, media and civil society organisations — perceive and utilise Chega! The second component assessed different programs designed to disseminate and ‘socialise’ Chega! amongst Timorese. The methodology involved a desk review of publicly available speeches and documents, interviews with 28 key actors, interviews with students exposed to Chega!-socialisation programs and an analysis of students’ written responses to such programs.Item Open Access Small-Scale Mining in Bougainville: Impacts and Policy Responses(Canberra, ACT: Dept. of Pacific Affairs, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, The Australian National University, 2016-05) O'Faircheallaigh, Ciaran; Regan, Anthony; Kikira, Dennis; Kenema, SimonNew report released presenting interim findings from research project on small-scale mining in BougainvilleItem Open Access Urban Development in Honiara: Harnessing Opportunities, Embracing Change(Canberra, ACT: Dept. of Pacific Affairs, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, 2017) Keen, Meg; Barbara, Julien; Carpenter, Jessica; Evans, Daniel; Foukona, Joseph D.Honiara and its surrounding urban areas have the highest levels of population growth in the South Pacific, and the population could treble by 2050. Such rapid growth presents huge challenges, but also great opportunities. This report looks at how the people living in Honiara can manage growth and embrace urban opportunities. The authors consider possible pathways to enhance: urban policy and governance; diverse partnerships across communities, sectors and levels of government; economic prosperity and livelihoods; and urban-rural linkages. Within the community, there are many ideas and initiatives occurring right now to make Honiara a better place, and also many views of appropriate pathways forward. This report is an effort to capture current practice, the lessons learned that can shape the future, and possible pathways forward for Solomon Islanders to consider.Item Open Access Do No Harm Research: Bougainville(Canberra, ACT : Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, 2018) Eves, Richard; Kouro, Genevieve; Simiha, Steven; Subalik, IreneThis report covers the research undertaken in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville as part of the much larger project, Do No Harm: Understanding the Relationship between Women’s Economic Empowerment and Violence against Women in Melanesia. The Do No Harm research addresses the question of how to improve women’s economic agency and the security of their livelihoods without compromising their safety. It sought to capture the diversity of ways that women endeavour to overcome economic disadvantage in contemporary Melanesia. Fieldwork for the Do No Harm research was undertaken in Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, with a total of 485 interviews conducted, including 238 with women.1 The interviews generated a large body of rich qualitative data on women’s lives and the difficulties and challenges they confront as they seek to earn income in order to improve their lives and those of their children.Item Open Access Do No Harm Research: Solomon Islands(Canberra, ACT : Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, 2018) Eves, Richard; Lusby, Stephanie; Araia, Thomson; Maeni, Mary-Fay; Martin, RoseThis report covers the research undertaken in Solomon Islands as part of the much larger project, Do No Harm: Understanding the Relationship between Women’s Economic Empowerment and Violence against Women in Melanesia. The Do No Harm research addresses the question of how to improve women’s economic agency and the security of their livelihoods without compromising their safety. It sought to capture the diversity of ways that women endeavour to overcome economic disadvantage in contemporary Melanesia. Fieldwork for the Do No Harm research was undertaken in Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, where a total of 485 interviews were conducted, including 238 with women.1 The interviews generated a large body of rich qualitative data on women lives and the difficulties and challenges they confront as they seek to earn income in order to improve their lives and those of their children.Item Open Access Do No Harm Research: Papua New Guinea(Canberra, ACT : Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, 2018) Eves, Richard; Kouro, Genevieve; Simiha, Steven; Subalik, IreneThis report covers the research undertaken in the Papua New Guinea highlands as part of the much larger project, Do No Harm: Understanding the Relationship between Women’s Economic Empowerment and Violence against Women in Melanesia. The Do No Harm (DNH) research addresses the question of how to improve women’s economic agency and the security of their livelihoods without compromising their safety. It sought to capture the diversity of ways that women endeavour to overcome economic disadvantage in contemporary Melanesia. Fieldwork for the Do No Harm research was undertaken in Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, with a total of 485 interviews conducted, including 238 with women.1 The interviews generated a large body of rich qualitative data on women’s lives and the difficulties and challenges they confront as they seek to earn income in order to improve their lives and those of their children.Item Open Access 2017 Papua New Guinea General Elections : Election Observation Report(Canberra, ACT: Dept. of Pacific Affairs, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, 2018-11) Haley, Nicole; Zubrinich, KerryDelivering a national election “is the largest and most complex logistical operation a country ever faces in peacetime… It involves putting the entire adult population of the country through a proscribed process, under tight timeframes, sometimes as short as one day” (Maley 2014). In PNG the exercise is further complicated by difficult terrain, punishing weather conditions, poor transport infrastructure, extreme linguistic and cultural diversity which manifests as highly variable voter behaviour, inconsistent administrative performance at the subnational level, markedly diverse security environments and severe fiscal constraints, including significantly reduced funding in non-election years and the late and piecemeal release of funds in election years. All of these factors contribute to PNG’s elections being amongst the world’s most challenging and most expensive (per capita) to deliver (DFAT 2013). In mid-2017, PNG conducted its 9th general elections since independence. This report provides an independent research-based assessment of those elections, undertaken by Australian- and PNG-based researchers, under the auspices of the ANU. The ANU was one of several groups, including the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, the Melanesian Spearhead Group, the European Union, and Transparency International PNG (TIPNG), who were invited to observe the elections.1 The 2017 election observation was the third such observation undertaken by the ANU in PNG, and is the most comprehensive observation we have undertaken to date anywhere in the region. Funded in partnership by the ANU and the Australian Aid Program, the 258-person observation team, led by Nicole Haley, head of DPA,2 comprised 32 PNG academics/researchers in team leader roles, 21 ANU-based academics in mentoring roles, 10 ANU undergraduate students, 192 PNG observers recruited from civil society and the tertiary sector, and three ANU support staff. The observation differed from those of other groups in that it employed a mixed-methods approach, involving detailed observation by domestic and international observers from the issue of writs through to the formation of government, key informant interviews and two cross-sectional citizen surveys designed to explore attitudes, perceptions and the ways citizens engaged with and experienced the election.3 In total, over 7500 citizens were surveyed. Their views, experiences and insights inform this report and supplement the observations made by the ANU teamItem Open Access New Zealand's Recognised Employer Scheme (RSE): 10 Year Longitudinal Case Study(Department of Pacific Affairs, Australian National University, 2019) Bailey, Rochelle-LeeThis research stems from a 10-year longitudinal study of 22 ni-Vanuatu temporary migrant labourers participating in New Zealand’s Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme (RSE) established on 30 April 2007. The RSE scheme was a grower-initiated policy and the objectives were two-fold: to fill the chronic shortfall of available labour in the horticulture and viticulture sectors and at the same time, New Zealand (NZ) government officials promoted the RSE as a way forward for economic development in the Pacific region, via remittances sent home. With a lack of waged employment opportunities in their home countries, many families in the Pacific region perceive labour mobility opportunities as an additional source of income that can meet individual and community needs. The positive economic and social outcomes from the RSE makes it attractive for governments, industries and Pacific workers alike, and is the reason why the scheme has seen continued expansion. The study has focused on three main areas: »» Identifying the various social and economic impacts for employers, RSE workers, their families, workers’ communities, as well as New Zealand communities in which workers reside. »» Knowing more about the interactions between seasonal workers, their employers and local NZ communities. »» Tracking how the program has changed and expanded over time, monitoring the challenges and strengthening the positive impacts while mitigating negative unintended consequences.Item Open Access 2019 Solomon Islands National General Elections : Observation Report(Canberra, ACT: Dept. of Pacific Affairs, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, 2019) Wiltshire, Colin; Batley, James; Ridolfi, Joanne; Rogers, AthenaThe ANU, through the Department of Pacific Affairs (DPA), conducted a large-scale observation of the election comprising 90 observers, 77 of whom were Solomon Islanders. The observation covered almost a third of the country (15 of Solomon Islands’ 50 national constituencies). Fieldwork was carried out from 23 March to 10 April 2019 in order to comprehensively cover the pre-polling, polling and post-polling periods. The research comprised direct election observations and citizen surveys. In total, almost 5000 citizens were interviewed either before or after the election, and nearly 600 observation reports were completed. In terms of the breath and scope of the data collected, this study represents one of the largest and most comprehensive research exercises to have been undertaken in Solomon Islands.Item Open Access Family Protection Orders: A Key Response to Domestic and Family Violence. A Pilot Study in Lae, Papua New Guinea(Canberra, ACT: Dept. of Pacific Affairs, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, 2019-02) Putt, Judy; Phillips, Theresa; Thomas, Davida; Kanan, LindyThe pilot study was conducted primarily from March to August 2018 in the urban centre of Lae in Papua New Guinea (PNG), with the support and advice of members of the Morobe Family and Sexual Violence Action Committee. Drawing on consultations and interviews with more than 50 stakeholders and interviews with 14 women survivors, the research aimed to determine the use and efficacy of family protection orders. The study drew on de-identified client data for a period of more than three years from Femili PNG (FPNG), a non-government organisation (NGO) that provides case management and support for survivors of family and sexual violence. In addition, the district court provided statistics on orders for 2017 and 2018, a sample of police prosecution files were reviewed and the research team observed proceedings at the district court.Item Open Access Reporting, Investigating and Prosecuting Family and Sexual Violence Offences in Papua New Guinea(Canberra, ACT: Dept. of Pacific Affairs, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, 2020) Putt, Judy; Dinnen, SinclairThis report presents findings of research conducted between June and October 2019 by a small team from the Australian National University (ANU), with the assistance of researchers based in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The aim was to identify and analyse quantitative data that would indicate what has happened with the reporting, investigation and prosecution of family and sexual violence (FSV) offences in the past five years in three locations — Port Moresby, Lae and Arawa. The research was funded by the Australian Government through the Justice Services and Stability for Development Program (JSS4D).Item Open Access Papua New Guinea's Primary Health Care System: Views from the Frontline(Canberra, ACT: Dept. of Pacific Affairs, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, 2020) Wiltshire, Colin; Watson, Amanda H A; Lokinap, Denise; Currie, TatiaThis report aims to provide insights into how recent PNG government reform efforts are impacting on the primary health care system. These include the introduction of a free primary health care policy, national grants to provinces for recurrent health expenditure, changes in medical supply policies, and development funds allocated to members of parliament for health infrastructure in their electorates. It presents illustrations of how PNG’s primary health care system functions, drawing mainly on the perspectives of health administrators and frontline workers on the ground. The findings detailed in this report set out the realities of providing frontline health services to communities at the local level. This provides some insights into health system operations and reveals how different provincial contexts influence the implementation of health reforms, the utilisation of available health funds and the performance of health facilities.Item Open Access Women's Economic Empowerment among Coffee Smallholders in Papua New Guinea(Canberra, ACT: Dept. of Pacific Affairs, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, 2020) Eves, Richard; Titus, AshaWomen’s economic empowerment is an important component of the Australian Government’s aid policy and programming in the Pacific (CoA 2014:8, 16, 25; 2015; 2016). There is a critical need for research to provide an understanding of the challenges to realising the goal of women’s economic empowerment and an evidence base from which development programming can proceed. This report details findings of research undertaken with coffee smallholders at four sites in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea, comprising a quantitative survey of 143 households and qualitative interviews with 64 respondents, both male and female. The research was undertaken as part of the Do No Harm research project, funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development program. Coffee is one of Papua New Guinea’s most valuable export crops. It is a vital part of the local economy in several of Papua New Guinea’s highland provinces, with an estimated 400,000 smallholders growing coffee and nearly three million people reliant on income from it. Historically, coffee has been considered a men’s crop, since it is planted on land belonging to men, and consequently men tend to monopolise the income from its sale even today when women do a substantial amount of labour in the coffee value chain. The research found that despite some gains for women and greater awareness of ‘gender equality’, particularly in the two research sites close to the provincial capital of Goroka, women continue to be disregarded, or put on the ‘last page’, as one woman described it. Though there has been a lessening of the more rigid traditions of gender segregation that were practised in many parts of the Eastern Highlands in the past, gender norms and roles continue to impact negatively on women. Coffee labour is accepted as both men’s and women’s work, though gender determines the particular kinds of labour they normally do. This segregation of labour reflects, to some extent, the types of labour men and women traditionally do in the agricultural sphere. As has often been noted, women’s role in coffee production is usually in the least skilled aspects of the work, typically in the labour intensive and time-consuming tasks, such as harvesting, washing and processing. Men take the tasks requiring some knowledge of coffee technology, such as planting, shading, fencing and pruning (Barnes 1981:274). Above all, men control the planning of the production process and the sale of coffee — ‘standing up at the scale’ as one woman referred to it. Our research found that women are more likely to have the lead role in commercial gardening and the selling of fresh produce, largely because the income from this is much lower than that from coffee. Men refer to the income from coffee as ‘heavy money’, meaning that it produces substantial amounts of money compared to the insignificant amounts they believe other cash crops make. We found that almost 70 per cent (69.6%) of women had their own income, though this ranges from a high of 85.7 per cent of women in Unggai-Bena District, to a low of 50 per cent in Okapa District 2. Women had fewer means of earning than men, with the most common income generator for them being garden produce (38.5%), followed by coffee (24.5%). The most common income generator for men was coffee (76.3%), followed by garden produce (30.5%). However, in the last year, men’s main source of income was coffee (65.9%), followed by paid employment (10.9%). The research found that only a quarter (25%) of households had a bank account, with a high of 39.4 per cent of households in Goroka District, dropping to 14.8 per cent in Okapa District 2, indicating that proximity to Goroka is a significant determining factor. Of the household bank accounts, 67.7 per cent were operated by the husband. Women’s financial exclusion was noteworthy, with only 6.6 per cent having their own bank account. The situation was particularly dire for Okapa District, where only two women had accounts at Okapa District 1 and none at Okapa District 2. Despite the lack of bank accounts, 87.1 per cent of households saved, usually by hiding money (88.2%). Of the men, 84.1 per cent saved, mostly by hiding money (89%) and 75.7 per cent of women saved, also mostly by hiding money (91.6%). The research found that only 52.2 per cent of women had completed the formal education system, the majority attending only Grades 1 to 8 and only two women making it to Grade 12. Men fared much better than women in formal education, with 77.7 per cent attending school and 22 per cent having attended high school. Women had low levels of English language competence: 46.2 per cent could understand English, 24.2 per cent could speak English, 32.3 per cent could read it and 25.6 per cent could write it. Men fared much better than women in English language competence, with 61.8 per cent of men able to understand English, 42.8 per cent able to speak it, 50.4 per cent able to read it and 45.4 per cent able to write it. Because English is the language used by formal financial services, the lack of proficiency in English impacts negatively on women’s access to the financial services and products available. Women were also less proficient in numeracy than men, with only 49.6 per cent of women able to complete a basic addition of numbers and only 42.5 per cent able to do a simple multiplication. Men, on the other hand, scored much better than women with 76.2 per cent and 65.9 per cent respectively.Item Open Access Domestic Violence and Family Law in Papua New Guinea(Canberra, ACT: Dept. of Pacific Affairs, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, The Australian National University, 2021) Kanan, Lindy; Putt, JudyThis paper arose from a research project on family protection orders (FPOs) in Papua New Guinea (PNG), during which it became apparent that many matters being brought to the police and courts involved both domestic violence and family law issues. It also became clear that there was a lack of current information available regarding family law in PNG, with the only comprehensive textbook on the subject last updated over 25 years ago. This paper seeks to provide an overview of PNG’s family law architecture, explain how it is administered by PNG courts and discuss the interaction between family law and domestic violence matters. It concludes with some suggestions that could make the system easier to navigate for PNG citizens.Item Open Access Domestic violence, the law and related services in Papua New Guinea: A survey of young adults in Port Moresby and Lae(Canberra, ACT: Dept. of Pacific Affairs, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, The Australian National University, 2021) Putt, Judy; Milli, Geejay; Essacu, FrancisA survey of young adults was conducted in Port Moresby and Lae towards the end of 2019 and in early 2020 as part of a larger study on the use and efficacy of family protection orders (FPOs) as a key response to domestic and family violence (DFV) in Papua New Guinea (PNG). This report presents the results from all 180 participants in the survey, of whom 95 were interviewed face to face in Port Moresby, 27 completed the survey online and 58 were interviewed face to face in Lae. The results are presented under the headings found in the questionnaire: characteristics of participants, perceptions of domestic violence, attitudes to gender and violence, knowledge of PNG family violence law and FPOs and recommended sources of help for victims. As this was an exploratory survey rather than a representative sample, a final section on the findings examines a limited number of independent variables — gender and place of residence — for the significance of their impact on key dependent variables.Item Open Access Family Protection Orders in Papua New Guinea - Main Report(Canberra, ACT: Dept. of Pacific Affairs, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, The Australian National University, 2021) Putt, Judy; Kanan, LindyThe aim of the research project on which this report is based, was to investigate whether the family protection orders (FPOs) introduced under the Family Protection Act 2013 (FPA) were being accessed by, and improving the safety of, domestic and family violence1 (DFV) survivors. The Act, as well as the introduction of civil restraining orders specifically targeted at preventing and reducing DFV, represented a significant milestone in efforts to address in DFV in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The project was undertaken from late 2019 to August 2020. It was a collaborative project that involved researchers based in Australia and PNG, local researchers in various communities and several non-government organisations (NGOs). More than 25 people assisted with the research activities, which occurred in seven locations across PNG — Minj, Mount Hagen, Lae, Port Moresby, Popondetta, Buka and Arawa. The findings from the research are synthesised and summarised under the headings implementation and impact.