Suva, Fiji: Around 90 faith leaders, teachers and education professionals from across the country came together virtually this month to contribute to the development of the Fiji National Action Plan to Prevent Violence Against All Women and Girls (Fiji NAP).

The two consultations for the different sectors are part of a series of consultations the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation (MWCPA) and key partners in the Fiji NAP Technical Working Group will be holding this year as Fiji continues to deal with COVID-19.

“Even though we cannot have face-face consultations safely right now due to COVID-19, it does not mean the work of developing the Fiji NAP has stopped. I am pleased to share that our first two consultations held virtually was a success, with enthusiastic participation from our faith and education community. We were grateful to have the opportunity to listen to their views and have an open conversation on how violence against all women and girls can be prevented in Fiji,” said MWCPA Director of Women, Selai Cama Korovusere.

"This is very historic and groundbreaking. The faith sector is a vital component in the fight since more than 90% of the population identified themselves as belonging to some faith according to the 2007 census figures. Your participation is important. To put together the National Action Plan to Prevent Violence Against All Women and Girls,” said Reverend Sereima Lomaloma the chair and trustee of the House of Sarah.

Schools are an ideal environment to challenge harmful social and cultural standards that accept violence towards others.

“This is a very important consultation because the focus of the consultation is to try and come up with ideas of how well we can address violence in our society. In addressing violence in our society the education sector is one of the most important influencing spaces for girls and boys, as you know that within the school setting we spend about eight hours with our children really students in schools,” said Josua Nasele, the Senior Advisor at the National Substance Abuse Advisory Council.

“So the education system is one of the most important, because it is a breeding ground where we can make an impact to change the attitude and also the behavior of our students,” he said.

The Fiji NAP team will continue to conduct similar virtual consultations in the coming weeks to ensure that the Fiji NAP is informed by experience, knowledge and expertise that exists among diverse settings, sectors, and communities in Fiji to better prevent and respond to violence against all women and girls.

Background

Fiji is the first Pacific Island Country to start developing a national action plan to prevent violence against all women and girls and is one of the only two countries globally along with Australia, to have an evidence-based approach to preventing violence against women and girls. The Fiji NAP seeks to build a whole-of-government, inclusive policy to stop violence before it starts. Technical Working Group members include Ministry of Education, Heritage and Arts; Ministry of Health and Medical Services; Ministry of Youth and Sports; the Ministry of iTaukei and the iTaukei Affairs Board; Ministry of Employment; Medical Services Pacific; Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre; DIVA for Equality; Fiji Women’s Rights Movement; Empower Pacific; House of Sarah; Haus of Khameleon; Fiji Red Cross Society and Fiji Disabled Peoples Federation. For further information on the Fiji NAP please visit www.fijipreventvawg.com or visit the MWCPA social media pages to follow the development of the Fiji NAP.