Ashlee co-authored a submission with Fiona Gunn of Femili PNG to the 2020 inquiry of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Joint Standing Committee into the human rights issues of women and girls in the Pacific. Their submission focused on the response to family and sexual violence in PNG, and how Australia could support local actors.
Ashlee was a co-author of a chapter in the book ‘Hybrid Public Policy Innovations: contemporary policy beyond ideology’ (Routledge, 2018) with UPNG colleagues on evidence-based policymaking in developing countries.
Read the summary blog here >>
Read the discussion paper here >>
Book details >>
Ashlee summarised and assessed a recent evaluation of PNG’s family and sexual violence policing units on the Devpolicy Blog.
Above all else, this evaluation shows that if FSVUs are to achieve better outcomes for survivors, they need more respect and more resources. They will also do better as part of an ecosystem of service providers working together to support each other and their clients.
Ashlee interviewed Dr Linda van Leeuwen on the role of the private sector in combatting and responding to family and sexual violence in Papua New Guinea.
Something that I would really like resource companies to do is to actually reconceptualise gender violence, not just as a community problem or a law and order problem, or a private matter to be dealt with away from the workplace, but as a workplace safety issue.Linda van Leeuwen
Ashlee interviewed Dame Carol Kidu, a tireless campaigner for the rights of women and girls in Papua New Guinea, in October 2014 for the Devpolicy Blog.
For girls and women, [the biggest challenge] is probably defining their space in a rapidly changing society because change can be confusing, frightening and even abusive.Dame Carol Kidu
Through the ‘In Brief’ section of the Devpolicy Blog and interviews, Ashlee has been covering the latest news and research on gender-based violence in PNG and the Pacific region.
Interview examples:
Event summary:
‘In Brief’ examples:
Minister for Foreign Affairs, The Hon Julie Bishop MP, asked the human rights subcommittee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade to inquire into and report on the human rights issues confronting women and girls in the Indian Ocean – Asia Pacific region.
Given the wide scope of the terms of reference for this inquiry, we focused on addressing the family and sexual violence epidemic in Papua New Guinea (PNG).
This submission was prepared by Ms Ashlee Betteridge, Research Officer at the Development Policy Centre, The Australian National University, and Dr Kamalini Lokuge, Fellow at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, The Australian National University.
Download full submission [pdf].
An interview with Serena Sumanop, the Executive Director of The Voice Inc, a home-grown Papua New Guinean NGO working to empower young people to contribute to their communities and to development.
Interview with Daisy Plana of the PNG Family and Sexual Violence Case Management Centre on gender-based violence in PNG.