Rodney Dekker’s highly commended portrait is on exhibition as part of the Head On Portrait Awards 2014 at Paddington Reservoir until June 8.
My finalist image is from a series I took in PNG on assignment for Oxfam New Zealand. This image in particular is about violence against women in PNG which is evident in wider society on a scale we can’t imagine. Particular organisations within PNG and internationally are working to give women better rights.
Lisa Joe was physically abused by her alcoholic husband. She now lives at Lifeline, a refuge supported by Oxfam for women facing domestic violence in Papua New Guinea. Lisa came here to escape an abusive and alcoholic husband. In the time that I spent with Lisa, it seemed her eyes told a story of fragility, of love towards her daughter and of pain, anger and sorrow.
In 2013 the UN special rapporteur on violence against women, Rashida Manjoo, observed that violence against women, “is a pervasive phenomenon … in the home, the community and institutional settings.” She also noted the government failed to hold perpetrators to account.
Links:
The Head On Portrait Award Exhibition: https://headon.org.au/event/head-2014-portrait-awards
Rodney Dekker: http://www.rodneydekker.com/
