Many more villages and settlements in the coming year would be able to take advantage and be part of the government’s initiative to create violence free communities in Fiji.
This would be possible through the Ministry of Social Welfare, Women and Poverty Alleviation’s move to expand the coverage on the Zero Tolerance Violence Free Community Campaign in the rural and maritime communities around Fiji.
The Minister Dr Jiko Luveni said that with a budgetary allocation of $750,000 to the Women’s Plan of Action, the Ministry will be able to reach out to more women’s groups particularly through the programs for Elimination of violence Against Women and Children (EVAW).
“So far we have got 60 communities on our Zero Tolerance Violence Free Community Campaign and gatekeepers committee has been formed in each of these communities and the initiative is headed by the leaders of the communities particularly by the male leaders, traditional leaders, women and youth leaders in communities that have undergone 8 to 12 months of awareness programs and training on addressing violence at community level.
“Next year 30 more communities will have the opportunity to join this campaign and they will have to go through the 10 preparatory phases. These communities have to take ownership of the campaign and participate into awareness programs to determine the causes of violence, be aware about the laws that protect women and children, learn about gender based violence and anger management,” she said.
Minister Luveni said the campaign is implemented through the Ministry’s partnership with the Fiji Police and Non-Government Organisations like Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC).
She said the campaign empowers women to report cases to the Police and build on strong family as the foundation for developing harmonious families and communities.
“The gatekeepers committee in the villages works closely with the Police and they are aware of the Domestic Violence Decree and No Drop Policy that all cases need to be reported to and be dealt by the Police. What used to be treated as a private matter is now brought to the forefront and it becomes an eye opener for the communities that eliminating violence is everyone’s responsibility,” Dr Luveni said.
She said the campaign would also be monitored and reviewed by the joint Taskforce on Elimination of violence against Women and Children that has been established this year.
Another important component of the campaign is economic empowerment of the women’s groups in the communities that have joined this campaign.
“We feel that poverty is also one of the contributing factors of violence within families, having not enough food and money causes tension and pressure within the families. Through this campaign, we also provide income generating projects to women’s groups and facilitate Legal Literacy and Leadership Training that empowers women into decision making,” Minister Luveni explained.
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