Papua New Guinea: Police Rapes Undermine AIDS Fight

In a 50-page report released today, New York-based Human Rights Watch said efforts to combat HIV/AIDS in Papua New Guinea are being undermined by police brutality, including the rape, torture and beating of children. "Still Making Their Own Rules: Ongoing Impunity for Police Beatings, Rape and Torture in Papua New Guinea" is HRW's second report on police brutality in the South Pacific island nation in as many years.

"Police rapes and torture are crimes, not methods of crime control," said Zama Coursen-Neff, a senior researcher at HRW's Children's Rights Division. "These brutal tactics have destroyed public confidence in the police."

According to HRW, police routinely lock up children with adults -- even when separate cells are available -- placing them at higher risk for rape and other forms of violence. The report cited one case in July 2006 where police raped a six-year-old girl in a police station. In January 2006, it said corrections officers at a prison in the city of Lae beat and sexually abused detained boys, forcing them to have anal sex with each other. "The abuses perpetuated by the police contribute to a quickly escalating HIV epidemic," the report said.

Though PNG officially has around 12,000 HIV/AIDS cases in a population of 5.4 million, the real figure is estimated at 80,000-120,000 cases. With an annual infection rate of 33 percent, experts warn PNG is on the verge of an African-style epidemic.

Abusive police rarely face punishment, in part because violence is culturally acceptable in PNG, the report found. In one case, police opened fire on unarmed school boys in October 2005, and, though two officers were charged, the case has not been sent to the public prosecutor. "By choosing not to punish abusive police, [PNG's] leaders leave ordinary people as afraid of the police as they are of criminals," said Coursen-Neff.

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