Jayapura (ANTARA News) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has plans to make the easternmost Indonesian province of Papua a pilot project for handling cases of sexual violence, according to ICRC spokesperson Ita Prawira.

Papua was selected as a pilot project because the number of the victims of sexual violence in the region was quite high, Ita said when contacted by ANTARA here Saturday.

"We have conducted research and coordinated with relevant institutions in the region, and results indicate that the number of the victims of sexual violence in the province is quite high," she said.

Although Papua had been selected, she remained uncertain which districts and towns would be the focus of the project, Ita added.

"The ICRC will not work alone, we will cooperate with the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) as partner, as we did in the previous programs," she said.

One reason for cooperating with the PMI is that people are not familiar with PMI other than as a blood bank, Ita explained.

"So, we also want to show the public that the PMI focuses on other fields such as sexual violence," she said.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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