I was recently lucky enough to attend an event focused on ending the domestic violence in Papua New Guinea. Senisim Pasin is a strategic Papua New Guinea Tribal Foundation initiative in alliance with the National Strategy for Responsible Sustainable Development. Two thirds (7 out of 10) of the women in Papua New Guinea will experience domestic violence in their lives. That’s a staggering statistic. But people are stepping up within Papua New Guinea to end the violence that tears apart families. This grass roots based organization has sprung up because many people within the country want change.
The Senisim Pasin organization, which means “Change Our Ways” created an inspiring documentary, which gives you a glimpse into the stunning landscape of Papua New Guinea and into a culture that is trying to change the way women are valued in society. Senisim Pasin has screened their documentary in outside venues, on board ships providing medical service to Papua New Guinea and in many other unique ways. After the viewing of the documentary there is an educational portion to the program, where conflict resolution is taught and then lastly, the viewers are asked to step into action by promising to change their ways, and to take active steps to stop the domestic violence.
Not only is Senisim Pasin geared towards Papua New Guinea, but they have their sights on a more national audience, too. They would like to bring the conversation of domestic violence to the table at a national level. To learn more about the organization, please visit http://senisimpasin.org/
Written by Emilie Lorden