Reports in both the national andinternational media and anecdotal evidence indicate that theprevalence of crime and violence is high in PNG, andpresents an important obstacle to long-term development. Agrowing body of literature and data on the issue identify adiverse range of forms of crime and violence; from violencein the household to violent conflict between clans, andvarious forms of interpersonal violence. This violence hasbeen linked to various factors, ranging from historical andcultural factors, to, more recently, economic drivers.Conflict and violence have historically been an integralpart of social life in PNG. This briefing note presents ananalysis of the drivers of violence and crime in PNG. Anextensive data and literature review was undertaken by aWorld Bank team, following a scoping mission to PNG inDecember 2011. A follow-up mission to Port Moresby inOctober 2012 which included individual consultations withstakeholders as well as an experts meeting on Conflict andFragility helped test and refine the analysis. The briefbegins with a description of the role of conflict in PNGsociety, and of traditional mechanisms for managingconflict. Next, it discusses key stresses that increase therisk of violence in PNG. The fourth section examines howthese stresses affect the capacity of institutions in PNG tomanage the conflicts that come with rapid social andeconomic changes. The brief concludes with a summary of gapsin the current understanding of the stresses and drivers ofviolence in PNG.
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