Naomi Yupae works in Papau New Guinea with the Eastern Highland Family Voive Inc (EHFV), founded by a group of women in 1997 who were concerned at the level of family violence in the province and concerned at the number of women and children who were being imprisoned as a result of related incidents. The organisation is committed to and strives for violence free communities where all family members have a voice and live in peace and harmony. Since it was set up in 1997 it now has a solid track record of counselling and crisis intervention, child rights advocacy, community education around women's empowerment and rights, especially in regard to violence against women, behaviour change and social policy development.

Ms Yupae and her colleagues are working for the rights of women and children in a traditionally male-dominated society, where practices such as polygamy are culturally and legally acceptable and practised, thus contributing to the low status of women and the high level of violence against women and children. Research has shown that this violence and sexual violence have been a huge strain on the nation's already burdened services.

"The challenge of starting a new organisation to address violence against women and children in a culture where women and children are viewed as second class citizens was totally ludicrous. The decision to throw myself out in the dark became a nightmare given that I held a middle management position in the civil service with all its perks. The more I procrastinated the more I was haunted by the faces of women and children who sought me out for support and assistance to deal with serious cases of abuse. The highlands region of Papua New Guinea is well known for the “big-men” culture and the practice of polygamy is culturally and legally accepted. These are contributing factors to the low status of women and the high level of violence against women and children. When I made a decision to leave my comfort zone and be an agent of change for the disadvantaged members of my society, I felt like a bird let out of my cage of comfort into a world where I was free to fly and bring comfort to so many people, including women and children...”

The success of the work being pioneered was a test of my personal testimony as a divorced woman with 2 teenage children to nurture and rear to adulthood. In a country where oral history continues to be the method of instruction, positive role modeling is a very effective means of changing attitudes and behaviour. My personal values became the glue and driving force in holding together an organisation that would promote family values, rights and responsibilities. The decision to provide human rights based and family focused programs challenged a lot of my own personal beliefs and values particularly as a Christian and a Papua New Guinean woman. It continues to be a lifetime challenge but 10 years on I am better able to deal with the challenges in a more constructive manner which also helps others to become better persons.

I consider myself an “eagle” Christian rather than a “chicken” Christian because I have been empowered to sieve the preaching from Christian pulpits rather than being gullible. This has enabled me to empower women to question their long suffering due to “submission” to their spouses. More opportunities are available to me to speak to the church fraternal at every level, to challenge the church on their responsibility to teach God’s word responsibly and be sensitive to the needs of abused women and children. The abusive traditional practices of polygamy, bride price payment and the overall low status of women led me to armour myself with accurate information on traditional practices. Most traditional practices are abused for the benefit of the abusers, who are men. To understand the intended purposes and the actual practices under traditional mechanisms is an empowering process to be able to challenge the abusive aspects and provide alternatives. The organisational values were developed from individual values of significant persons to the organisation including staff and Board members. The organisational values are the glue that holds and nurtures the positive development of Family Voice. These values were put to the test when a male staff member decided to practice his tradition of polygamy.

He maintained that as a Papua New Guinean he had every right to marry another wife and that Family Voice had no mandate to terminate his employment. Before terminating him Family Voice was faced with this dilemma. As an organisation promoting the rights of the child, the staff member was the bread winner and had two small girls and a wife to support. By terminating him they would be seriously affected. Family Voice also began to question whether it was delving too much into moral issues in basing the decision on the polygamy issue. It was evident that he was going to take legal action and as an emerging charitable organisation it did not have the capacity to fight a legal battle. There were times along the road that I wanted to give up but I had started a fire that refused to die as it was kept alight by so many other people. not only women and children but also men and young boys that told a million stories of their suffering crying out like me – for a life free of violence."