Securitisation, development and the invisibility of gender

Discussions of violence are ubiquitous in, and with regard to, Papua New Guinea. In this chapter, I discuss how persistent broader contexts of legitimised violence shape efforts to destabilise particular patterns of violence, namely, male violence against women. Looking at the perspectives of men working in the security industry in PNG, I argue that the increased traction and centrality of discourses of securitisation in the name of national development allows violence against men accused of criminal or anti-social behaviour to persist. Critically, the silences around the gendered dimensions of violence between men excused as ‘disciplinary’ produces double standards that are unhelpful to efforts to improve gender equality. Here, I seek to illustrate that narratives of discipline and security form a continuum in discussions of violence, highlighting the need for politicised and holistic approaches to gender in violence interventions.