About

The Asia Pacific region has some of the highest levels of male violence against women and girls (MVAWG) in the world, and survivors in these settings face considerable challenges accessing support services. Person-centred case management programs aim to provide comprehensive practical support to survivors to escape abuse and rebuild their lives following violence. These programs have targeted various issues stemming from male violence—namely, domestic, family and sexual violence (DFSV), and more recently, trafficking of women and girls for the purposes of sexual exploitation.

In the Asia and Pacific region, case management programs for victims of DFSV and sex trafficking are typically delivered by NGOs, with the aim of supporting victims and survivors to access crisis and longer-term multisectoral services including safe accommodation, healthcare, counselling, legal advocacy, and employment assistance. Although there are important differences between DFSV and sex trafficking, approaches to providing care and support to survivors through case management services share many commonalities. Similarly, there is a need for greater understanding of the strengths, challenges, and impacts of case management services addressing DFSV and sex trafficking.

In this workshop, we bring together international experts and practitioners to exchange knowledge and experiences in delivering case management services in both of these critical areas. Through this exchange, this workshop aims to identify key priorities of and challenges facing service providers, and how research can help in addressing these. Participants will have the opportunity to explore pathways for potential collaboration, with a goal to strengthen evidence for and understanding of programs that can effectively support survivors of sex trafficking and DFSV, with a focus on Asia and the Pacific.
 

Speakers

Ms Evan Bieso

Case Work Manager at Femili PNG.
 

Ms Denga Ilave

Denga is the Operations Manager of Femili PNG, a Papua New Guinean NGO that works to improve responses to family and sexual violence through free case management services, which she joined at its inception in 2014. She previously worked with the Angau Hospital Family Support Centre as a mental health counsellor from 2011 to 2013. Before that she was a secondary school teacher in Rabaul, and a curriculum development officer in Papua New Guinea.
 

Ms Hasina Kharbhih

Hasina is the Founder and Chairperson of Impulse NGO Network, an anti-human trafficking organisation working across India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar. With over three decades of experience in this sector, Hasina is considered one of the leading experts on human trafficking in India, as well as South and Southeast Asia. Hasina and her team developed the Impulse Model and Impulse Case Management Centre to assist victims of trafficking-in-persons and prevent re-trafficking. The Impulse Model has been recognised by the United Nations as a best practice approach to addressing human trafficking. Hasina is also the Founder and Managing Director of Impulse Social Enterprises, which aims to empower tribal women artisans through sustainable income-generation opportunities. She is an Ashoka Fellow, a Fulbright Scholar, as well as a Fellow of the Aspen India Leadership Initiative.
 

Professor Ajailiu Niumai

Ajailiu Niumai is Professor of Sociology and Head of the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion & Inclusive Policy, University of Hyderabad (UoH), India. She is also a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Sociology, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Prof Niumai is the first and only woman among her Liangmai Naga tribe in North East India to be awarded a Ph.D degree, and she became the first tribal woman Professor in the University of Hyderabad in 2017. Her research focuses on issues of gender and human rights including trafficking of women and girls in North East India, menstrual hygiene in rural India, and economic development policy in South Asia. Her book (with Abha Chauhan) titled “Gender, Law and Social Transformation in India” has been published by Springer Nature, Germany & Singapore (2022). Her forthcoming books include “100 Years of Sociology in India” (with Abha Chauhan & Tattwamasi Paltasingh) by Springer Nature, and “Human Trafficking: Untold Stories of Trafficked Survivors from North East India” by Routledge (2023).
 

Ms Geneviève Gilbert

Geneviève Gilbert is Chair and CEO of The Pink Cross Foundation Australia, a Melbourne-based, ACNC-registered charity providing services to those affected by commercial sexual exploitation. Since its inception in 2013, the charity's strategic plan focused on outreach to legal adult venues, providing referrals, and running educational events in the community, including public speaking. Their 2024 Strategic Plan, and mission and vision, currently considers implementing a primary care, healthcare-based framework of practice for individual, and group therapy.

Geneviève has been practising for one year now as a trauma-informed, and neurodiversity-affirming, therapist. Geneviève also integrates somatic, and art therapy treatment, in her practice. She welcomes participants via telehealth within Pink Cross' new clinic, trading as Be Your Best.

Facilitators

Prof Kamalini Lokuge

Professor Kamalini Lokuge, OAM, HOSM, leads the Humanitarian Health Research Initiative at the Australian National University. Prof Lokuge and her team conduct operational research in partnership with communities and service providers to inform effective health service delivery and prevention. Prof Lokuge is a public health physician and medical epidemiologist and has worked for Médecins Sans Frontières, the World Health Organisation and the International Committee of the Red Cross over the past 25 years in a range of humanitarian emergencies. Prof Lokuge was pro-bono Founding Director of Femili PNG, an NGO dedicated to providing advocacy and case management to survivors of family and sexual violence.

Ms Tatum Street

Tatum is a PhD Candidate and Research Assistant in the Humanitarian Health Research Initiative (HHRI), National Centre for Epidemiology & Population Health at the Australian National University. Her doctoral research is exploring enablers and barriers to providing support services for women and girls affected by sex trafficking in Northeast India, and how these services promote protective factors associated with safety and recovery. Tatum was awarded an ANU University Medal in 2019 for her Master of Asian & Pacific Studies (Advanced) degree. She is currently completing a Master of Social Work (Professional Qualifying) from Charles Sturt University.