Return to Abuser

A report from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) uncovers the gaps in services and systems in Papua New Guinea, trapping women and children in cycles of severe family and sexual violence. “Return to Abuser” details how a dire lack of protection mechanisms, a weak justice system and a culture of impunity endanger the health and lives of patients even if they manage to reach medical care. 

The report includes comprehensive data from more than 3,000 survivors of family and sexual violence that MSF treated in 2014-15 in its two projects in both rural Tari, in Hela Province, and the capital, Port Moresby. It reveals the repeated, often escalating, violence women and children endure in the places they should be safe, their homes and communities.