People in the province of Ra yesterday rejoiced the declaration of Namuaimada village as a Zero Tolerance Violence Free Community, a program initiated by the Government to address the issues of domestic violence against women.
A 300-plus crowd gathered to celebrate and welcome the Minister for Social Welfare, Women and Poverty Alleviation Dr Jiko Luveni who officially launched the program.
Following a Cabinet Decision on 17th July 2008 to address violence against women and children, the Department of Women set up a pilot project in Koroipita in Lautoka in 2008. After witnessing the success of Koroipita project, the Department pursued the program in Tavua, which resulted in Vatutavui village being declared as the 2nd Zero Tolerance Violence Free Community in March this year.
The Zero Tolerance program is aligned to the Millennium Development Goal 3, “Promote Gender Equality and Women Empowerment,” along with the Beijing Platform for Action and the National Women’s Plan of Action on the Elimination of Violence against Women and Children.
Dr Luveni while officially declaring Namuaimada as the 3rd Zero Tolerance Violence Free Community said the program will promote and protect women’s rights and create a peaceful society.
“It’s a joyous occasion and an achievement for the women of Ra as this is the 3rd community to be declared a Zero Tolerance Against Violence Free Community and deserves the celebration with so many people present here today from Nadroga, Nadi Tavua, Lautoka to witness this initiative it reflects on their commitment to create a violent free society.
“Next year we will be declaring 15 more communities as violent free zones and we call upon the society to take a collaborative approach to eliminate violence against women and children to have a caring society. The people themselves have to take ownership of the Zero Tolerance Violence Free Community,” she said.
Mr Usaia Rawaidranu, the Turaga ni koro for Namuaimada village said as a result of the Zero tolerance program, the village now has a committee on Violence against Women and Children that looks after the welfare of women and children.
“I am so happy our village has been declared a violent free zone for women, and as a result, we have set up a committee so that villagers are aware about the negative impacts of violence. We have taken a community approach to create awareness on the issue,” he said.
The Assistant Police Superintendent Ra, Mr Sekaia Suluka said the Zero tolerance program will assist the Police Department in terms of curbing the cases of domestic violence by creating awareness in communities on the need to stop violence.
“The villagers especially the men are aware about the need to create a violent free society as there is a collaborative approach taken to address domestic violence. It’s no longer a taboo in this village, everyone knows where to go to for help when they come a across a violence situation,” Mr Suluka added.
Ms Milika Mavele, representative of the Violence against Women and Children Committee in the Namuaimada village said since the launching of the Zero Tolerance program villagers were actively involved in the action against violence.
“Since the inception of Zero tolerance program, the villagers are enlightened especially men within their families to show respect and love for each other. Through this program we have all learnt to work together, appreciate each other, learnt to respect every member of our community and break the barrier of hate and neglect,” she said.
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