Father's day - September 2013

16 days of activism on violence against women

International Children's Day- November 20

World Aids Day- December 1

Human Rights Day- December 10

Family Voice uses these events as as opportunity to do more awareness to the public on social issues that are currently being faced by the youths, men and women and educate them by giving them options on where to get help.

Meri Seif Haus

The Meri Seif Haus concept is one of Family Voice’s dreams to establish a building that will cater for victims of domestic and sexual violence. The building will basically have a reception area, a clinical examination room, counseling room, toilet and shower plus 2-3 rooms for overnight stays. According to the Law & Justice Sector Division of Eastern Highlands Province, 85% of matters in the village courts relate back to domestic violence and assaults to children and women. From Family Voice's statistics, it shows that domestic violence is one of the highest recorded types of violence on women.

For this reason, many victims especially women tend to suffer more under the violent threat and abuse of their husbands. A Meri Seif Haus would help women who have nowhere to turn to come for a first hand counseling and medical check if they have been raped, sexually abused or receive bruises and harm to their bodies from fights.

Currently Eastern Highlands Family Voice and other partners are concentrating to establish first a Family Support Centre that will be located within the Goroka Base hospital premises. This idea is to make work easier if the victims need immediate medical checks.

The family support centre will act as a clinical facility so that victims will not have to get treatment at the Accidents & Emergency section. A counseling room will also be set up for clients who may need this service. All this has to be established in an environment with proper security provided up to a minimum of 48 hours. The Family Support centre will assist for up to 48 hours protection only and after this, it is when the Meri Seif Haus comes in to aid for the additional needs that will come for providing extra services to victims.

A working committee is already in place and is currently looking at working on a small scoping exercise to initiate something out from this plan. Family Voice is working together with partners like Marie Stopes, Division for Community Development, Law & Justice Sector of Eastern Highlands Province, other NGOs and the Goroka Base Hospital. Family Voice is currently seeking a land for the Meri Seif Haus and the immediate need now is to firstly secure an available building in the town area to develop it into a family support centre.