The Foreign and Commonwealth Office β to give it its full title β operates a travel advice website. It covers every country in the world and subjects ranging from safety and terrorism through to entry requirements and local health issues. I use it a lot to research the 3 Vs that hang over my travels : visas, viruses and violence. The concern in Papua New Guinea is violence.
Settlement or squatter areas of towns and cities are particularly dangerous. Carjacking, assault including sexual assaults , bag snatching and robberies are common. Walking after dark is particularly dangerous in Port Moresby and other urban centres. Papua New Guinea was the opposite. The closer I got, the more worried everyone was. One person told me that there was still cannibalism in in PNG.
I assumed she was winding me up. My risk came from the local criminal gangs β known as the Raskols. It makes the gangs sound naughty but endearing.
The reality is anything but. The growth of squatter settlements in Port Moresby have led to a corresponding increase in the number and size of raskol gangs. Crimes such as rape, murder, and carjacking are common in a city that has a 60 percent unemployment rate. In urban areas, Raskol gangs often require would be members to rape women as part of their initiation.
Papua New Guinea is often ranked as the worst place in the world for violence against women ; the rape statistics are sickening. Hate to see you targeted.
