To mark the International Day of Violence Against Women, staff of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community express their ideas on the subject.
Do you know that 66% of women in Fiji, 68% in Kiribati, 67% in Papua New Guinea, 46% in Samoa, and 64% in Solomon Islands have suffered violence according to studies carried out by their governments and development partners including SPC. Violence against women and girls has far-reaching impacts on society, undermining development efforts and costing Pacific Island economies millions of dollars. SPC supports Pacific Island country and territories to act against sexual and gender-based violence, including through law change. These efforts are beginning to show results in countries such as Kiribati, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Tonga and Vanuatu. SPC also serves as a member of the Forum Reference Group to Address Sexual and Gender Based Violence, a policy advocacy group mandated by Pacific Forum Leaders to visit member countries and urge reforms in policy, legislation and service delivery to eliminate sexual and gender-based violence and improve support for survivors.To watch the video, follow the link below to the SPC website which provides the direct link to the video.