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Three types of sexual activity between consenting adults in private - sexwork, male-male sex and adultery - were criminalised by the introduced Anglo-Australian common-law system in Papua New Guinea. There is evidence that, of these, only adultery was considered a crime in most traditional PNG societies. But it was adultery which was decriminalised, in 1988, when it was made the basis for a civil action.
Sexwork, in the form of wife-swapping or temporary giving for valuables, was known in some traditional Papua New Guinea societies, and pre-marital multi-partnering, accompanied by gift-giving, is still practised today in others. In many parts of the country (although not all) sex between biological males was common, regarded with mild amusement or even required as part of ceremonial initiation or male maturation processes.
Papua New Guinea society of today has changed dramatically. A modern nation-state frames its laws based on newly invented concepts of 'tradition' and the assertion that an increasingly fundamentalist Christianity is part of this tradition. An emerging middle class creates itself in the images of the West, while the urban poor turn to crime for survival. State agents such as the police wield power far beyond that of their forebears. Governance is far from good, and infrastructure is collapsing. HIV/AIDS is increasingly taking its toll in all strata of society. All these factors go to shape current attitudes and beliefs.
What are the consequences of the current criminalisation of sexwork and sodomy? Should these laws be revised? And if so, how? What are the chances of successful reform? Will reform have any effect? My research seeks answers to such questions.
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