In Papua New Guinea, ChildFund Australia has implemented the HOPE (A Haus (house) for Protection and Empowerment) project, which aims to reduce the widespread violent abuse of children’s and women’s rights by empowering survivors and training human rights defenders. The project has provided a safe refuge center for survivors of violence, better prevention mechanisms and a group of human rights defenders trained and empowered to intervene in sexual violence cases and encourage survivors and families to seek legal justice and medical attention.

To date, the project has trained 207 human rights defenders. One of them is Mr. Rami, a former government officer who used to blame survivors of gender-based violence for misbehaving or being at the wrong place at the wrong time. He was not aware that survivors also have rights and need support to overcome their trauma and emotional distress, and to access legal justice.

Thanks to the HOPE project, Mr. Rami now understands the need to act appropriately. He sees things from a different perspective and works towards helping both survivors and perpetrators. He also encourages his community to come together to find support and seek legal assistance for survivors of sexual violence.

Mr. Rami’s work is a positive social change. It plays a major role in preventing and resolving conflicts, in the fight against impunity and corruption, and in the establishment of the rule of law.