By RNZ News

The sense of national unity felt during the Covid-19 lockdown may disappear as social isolation and economic costs hit home, a report by leading social scientists warns.

Koi Tū: the Centre for Informed Futures from the University of Auckland has released a discussion paper outlining potential difficulties as restrictions lift.

It argues that social cohesion must be a key consideration for policymakers in a post-Covid-19 world.

READ MORE: Al Jazeera coronavirus live updates – Some countries begin easing lockdowns

Koi Tū director Sir Peter Gluckman said the level of community compliance and collective purpose shown during the fight against Covid-19 has rarely been seen outside wartime.

He warned this would likely begin to waver as the country moved out of the acute phase and the implications of the lockdown became apparent.

“Already, we’re seeing a rise in tension between conflicting economic and health interests. Sectors are starting to compete for attention. Some are in hurry to return to a pre-covid life; others see the opportunity for a major reset,” Sir Peter said.

“Many lives have been fundamentally changed, and for those people, the new ‘normal’ is full of huge uncertainty. That is where social cohesion will start to break down and the mental well-being of many will be further affected.”

Enhanced cohesion
As well as Sir Peter, the paper was written by Professor Paul Spoonley, Anne Bardsley, Tracey McIntosh, Rangimarie Hunia, Sarb Johal and Richie Poulton and informed by a larger group of mental health experts.

Professor Spoonley said enhanced cohesion was often seen in the initial response to major crises as communities pulled together against a common threat.

However, as the situation evolved over time, social cohesion could be lost and may even become worse than before the crisis.

“We cannot be complacent. Social cohesion is a major asset for New Zealand. A cohesive, safe and Covid-free country will enhance New Zealand’s global reputation and help project our place in the world – with positive flow on effects for our economy,” he said.

“But once lost, it becomes extremely difficult to restore, especially when there is both increased uncertainty and new forms of inequality.”

Sir Peter said that in the coming months and years, there would be many decisions made by government, individuals and businesses to recover from the crisis.

There would be a need to look for the advantages of the “new normal” that would emerge, he said.

No new NZ cases
There were no new cases of covid-19 confirmed in New Zealand today, but one probable case has been reclassified as confirmed.

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said that meant New Zealand’s total of confirmed and probable cases remained the same at 1487. The total number of confirmed cases is 1137.

Dr Bloomfield said there had been no additional deaths, leaving New Zealand’s total at 20.

The last time there was 0 new cases was on March 16.

Yesterday 2473 tests were done. The total number of completed tests is 152,696.

There are seven cases in hospital, and none are intensive care.

The number of clusters in NZ remains at 16, three of them have now been closed as there have been no cases of community transmission in the past few days.

“Clearly these are encouraging figures today, but it is just one moment in time. The real test is later this week when we factor in the incubation period for the virus and the time it takes for people to display symptoms which is generally five to six days after exposure,” Dr Bloomfield said.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

With just three months to go until the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders summit in November, the Papua New Guinean government has been buckling down to preparations.

The capital of Port Moresby is going through a series of facelifts ranging from continual road upgrades to clean up campaigns.

While these infrastructure developments are needed, they cannot conceal the social issues currently plaguing Papua New Guineans.

One serious issue is the alarming rate at which violence, more specifically gender-based violence, continues to intensify in Papua New Guinea.

According to the World Health Organisation, two out of three PNG women have experienced violence from an intimate partner.

Where intimate partners are not the perpetrators of violence, Papua New Guinean women are vulnerable to violence particularly in their mobility within communities.

In October 2017, a woman was almost burned to death by a mob who had accused her of practising sorcery.

Rescued from mob
The woman who was later identified as “Elizabeth” from Eastern Highlands was rescued by police officers and taken to a hospital before the mob could do anything else to her.

Stories like that of Elizabeth reiterate that PNG women are more vulnerable than ever and violence is near impossible to escape.

The shows that violence permeates all levels of Papua New Guinean society and a wakeup call is needed for the government to act quickly.

Critics say the level of attention that is being devoted to the APEC leaders summit should also be applied to combatting gender-based violence.

PNG cannot reach development and prosperity until violence against women is dealt with, argued Australian journalist Jo Chandler in a 2014 analysis.

At present, the response to gender-based violence has centred on implementing a 2016 – 2025 National Gender-Based Violence strategy which was officially launched in 2017.

The strategy is intended to be a guide for the PNG government to facilitate the implementation of the legislation, policies and programmes needed to eliminate gender-based violence.

Family protection law
The government has also passed family protection legislation in 2014 to criminalise domestic violence and give more power to protection orders for survivors.

These achievements are a win for gender-based violence survivors as sectorial committees such as the Family and Sexual Violence Action Committee (FSVAC) will be more equipped to support them and their needs.

FSVAC national coordinator Marcia Kalinoe said the National Gender-Based Violence Strategy “consolidates the current work that is ongoing”.

“Fourteen years ago, there was not much sensitisation and gender mainstreaming and specialised services addressing the issue,” she said.

Kailonoe added that the various legislative changes and multisectoral response would be of great assistance to survivors for accessing support services.

Despite the PNG government’s current milestones and the support of partners such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and donors, PNG is ranked as 140 out of 146 countries in the Gender Inequality Index.

The journey to raise more awareness on gender-based violence has not been an easy feat due to “socially and culturally constructed norms”, as outlined by the UNDP.

Constant challenges
In Durrie Bouscaren’s interview with a UNDP-trained “human rights defender” Linda Tule in June, these social and cultural constructs of unequal power relations were highlighted.

Tule talked about how she had counselled three women a week in spite of operating out of her home and on a limited budget.

She even hosts these women if a safehouse has reached its full capacity.

This is the current scenario for survivors of gender-based violence in PNG.

People like Enid Barlong Kantha, who has worked in the gender-based violence field for more than 10 years, knows the ebbs and flows first-hand.

She says that “challenges remain a constant part of the battle” despite the country’s achievements.

“Even with political will, there is still a lack of resources; human resource, financial support and infrastructure. Where there are services, a lack of capacity hinders progress and continues to frustrate many.”

She adds that the lack of coordination among stakeholders and lack of statistics deter better cooperation and collaboration in the national response to gender-based violence.

Stepping into the future
Advocates recognise that ending gender-based violence in PNG, or anywhere else in the world, cannot be done overnight.

The journey will be long and change will be incremental.

Yet, there are corrective measures that can be taken particularly by the PNG government.

For one thing, more emphasis can be placed on decentralising services to not only the outer provinces but also areas that are rural, say advocates.

This compulsive need to upgrade Port Moresby for the world’s eyes has to stop as it is failing the majority of Papua New Guineans and exacerbating unequal gender and power relations.

There is only so much advocacy and awareness that can be funnelled into eliminating gender-based violence.

Services coupled with awareness, however, can eliminate some of the social and cultural constructs at play in PNG.

As Papua New Guinean journalist Scott Waide has said, “superstition thrives where service delivery is poor”.

Pauline Mago-King is a Papua New Guinean postgraduate student at Auckland University of Technology where she is pursuing a Masters in Communication Studies. As part of her studies, she is researching gender-based violence. She is on AUT’s Asia-Pacific Journalism Studies course.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz