The police in Papua New Guinea's West Sepik Province have launched a new Family and Sexual Violence Unit.
The opening of the unit at the Vanimo Police Station is a joint project between the governments of PNG and Australia.
The new centre follows the establishment of Family and Sexual Violence Units in other provinces, including at Boroko, Badili and Waigani police stations.
The Assistant Commissioner of Police, Public Safety Division Jim Wan says family and sexual violence is a huge problem throughout PNG and police have to respond appropriately to victims.
Mr Wan says in order to create an enabling environment for victims to come forward to report crime, police need to have dedicated services with officers who have been specifically trained to deal with the cases.
The police say they plan to open another six units across the country this year.
