Case management and legal accompaniment

Federal Police’s increased investment in working with the police in PNG. Given the importance of civil society and women’s groups in supporting survivors’ access to justice, the CEDAW Committee has emphasized to States that feminist civil society should have a key role in reflecting on, reviewing and making changes to justice systems so that they fully respect the rights of women and girls seeking justice.365

Case management services are crucial for accessing justice for survivors. Women accessing justice often have to navigate a complex system – from police stations to hospitals to counselling services. Navigating these systems can be intimidating and frustrating, but case managers can accompany women throughout this process. In some countries, paralegals accompany women in navigating the legal system, while in other contexts, women’s organizations and community-based organizations provide case management support. Accompanying survivors on their journey to accessing justice is an important service to ensure that women feel supported.

While most countries lack strong case management services, PNG has a few strong formal and informal case management support systems for survivors. Femili PNG has emerged as a best practice example for formal case management in PNG (see Box 14). In areas with limited capacity, human rights defenders and grassroots organizations such as KUSWA provide informal case management support by helping survivors navigate various services and follow up on the status of cases at the police station and courts. When discussing the role of KUSWA, a police officer in Goroka explained “She [the advocate] is always at the police station to see what is happening with the women”.366

Box 20: Femili PNG - An example of effective case management

Established in 2013, Femili PNG is a local NGO dedicated to case management. It was created in Lae, Morobe Province, by a former provincial Family Support Centre who recognized the difficulties of navigating the criminal justice system for survivors seeking formal justice. Therefore, the case management centre was designed to see if a service specifically focused on coordinating cases, and essentially walking a survivor through the referral pathway, would improve uptake of different services.

“When Femili PNG started it was hard to give services because survivors don’t know where to go. We would give psychological and medical care but what about justice? People wouldn’t know where to go after we would help. Femili PNG was created so that cases don’t get lost in the process.”

– Femili PNG staff member.367

Femili PNG’s innovative approach puts survivors rather than services at the centre. Their success can be attributed to strong partnerships and their ability to coordinate with various service providers.