Launched in 2008 by the Ministry of Social Welfare, Women and Poverty Alleviation, the Zero Tolerance Violence Free Community (ZTVFC) Campaign continues to receive support from various communities wanting to join hands with the government in eliminating violence against women and children.
Officially launching this campaign in Nabila village in Nadi yesterday was Ministry head Dr Jiko Luveni who said that it is enlightening to see positive responses from communities towards the campaign. Dr Luveni also paid tribute to leaders in these communities for taking ownership of the campaign.
“There are positive responses from village headmen, church leaders, women and youth leaders who work together with the police and relevant stakeholders on this campaign. The communities also understand the negative impacts of violence on their families and they are encouraged to use peaceful dialogue as one of the tools to solve any differences or conflict with the families and societies,” Dr Luveni said.
Minister Luveni said that strengthened community support and networking with relevant agencies has seen an increase in reporting of violence and abuse cases to the Police.
“Through this campaign, people are also educated on the Convention of the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Domestic Violence Decree, Child Welfare Decree and gender equality.
“In 2011 a total of 15 communities joined the zero tolerance violence free communities campaign and the aim is to increase this number by 15 communities annually. If any community is willing to join, we will only be too glad to work with them. This year the ministry signed an MOU with Police so there is a close network with them in terms of reaching out to the communities,” Dr Luveni said.
She said that as part of this campaign, communities have also established a Gate Keeper’s Committee which comprises of officials from churches, chiefs, women, youths, police, commissioner’s office, provincial councils and government ministries.
“This collaborative approach strengthens the network for accessing information and resources needed to drive this campaign. It takes a one year behavior change preparation to declare absolute zero tolerance. The campaign is strongly supported by male leaders and continues to attract the attention of the media,” Dr Luveni added.
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