Earlier this year, I travelled to Papua New Guinea to document the stories of women and children affected by violence. During this journey I spoke to many incredible women who are standing up for themselves and their children. Women in Papua New Guinea are mobilising, they are protesting and on an individual level many women risk their lives to leave violent relationships.
Most of the women I spoke to who were suffering from family violence had small children. I spoke to many women who gently swung their babies in a billum. It is mesmerising to watch, it looks so blissful. It is so peaceful, so secure, so serene. It`s horrifying to think of how many children witness and are subjected to violence.
In Port Moresby, we spent time at City Mission Haus Ruth, one of the few women`s shelters in the country. All of the women I met at Haus Ruth had tried valiantly to protect their children from violence. They all talked about the horrific violence perpetrated against them, though most of their tears flowed when they spoke of the impact of violence against their little ones.
I will never forget Kay telling her story. She looked straight at the video camera and told of the most horrific attacks on her and her little girl. Whilst she was telling her story I was sitting at her feet, touching her legs and giving her support. I could see the stab marks on her feet.
Kay is living a nightmare. She is a young mother, just trying to look after her sweet little children. Both times that I visited Kay, she had done her daughter’s hair and sat patiently with both her children. I think of Kay often.
On our last day, our team was about to leave the refuge, when we were stopped because a violent and angry husband was outside in the street screaming. The guards who sit below the refuge locked the security gates and called the police. So we waited like all the women at Haus Ruth until it was safe to leave. It was a poignant afternoon.
Kay is telling her story because she hopes people will hear it and take action.
WARNING: THIS VIDEO MAY UPSET SOME VIEWERS
When we were leaving City Mission Haus Ruth – a refuge in Port Moresby where up to 30 women and children live whilst they await protective police action – Rose came up to me and said she was really disappointed because her story was important and she wanted to tell it. So we arranged that we would come back in a few days.
When we came back, Rose and I talked about who would see her video. I told her it is possible that everyone in Papua New Guinea and Australia may see it. To this she replied: “Good, that`s what I want.” I could tell that she had spent a lot of time thinking through the purpose of telling her story.
Rose then told her story to the camera. She told of how her husband attacked her with a knife €“ how she ran for her life, too fearful to return home for two nights. Because she escaped under such terrifying circumstances, she had left her three-month-old baby at home. On returning, she found her baby girl had been assaulted. The horror on her face still haunts me. I know as a loving parent that there is no greater fear than someone hurting your baby.
We took a break from filming; I think we were all grieving quietly and collectively. We were all shaking from the enormity of Rose putting it into words and saying it out loud. She was incredible.
Rose and I then sat together outside and just talked. She told me how everyone she knew had told her that it was best to stay with this man because otherwise he would kill her and maybe other members of her family. But Rose refused. She said to me: “He can kill me but he is not hurting my baby again.” Rose and I talked about the power of love, how it is stronger than the most violent threat.
Rose is a devoted mother and completely besotted by her little baby girl. We also talked about the first six months of getting to know your baby, how we both marvelled at having given birth to such perfect little beings. I think of Rose often.
As we left, Rose said to me that she was so relieved to have told her story, for others to hear and act upon. She said that being believed and being heard has given her the strength to continue to fight for justice. I promised to keep telling her story.
