Gender and Family Harm Workshop
The weeklong Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police Gender and Family Harm Workshop in collaboration with the Pacific-Community-SPC got underway in Nadi this morning with a somber reminder of the urgent need to strengthen law enforcement responses to gender based violence.
In attendance are law enforcement officers from Tonga Police, Australian Federal Police, Kiribati Police Service, Cook Islands Police Service, New Zealand Police, Vanuatu Police Force, Samoa Police, Prisons & Corrections Services, Fiji, Nauru Police Force, Bureau of Public Safety, Palau, Marshall Islands Police Department, Niue Police Department - Faahi Gahua Leoleo ha Niue, Tuvalu police service, RSIPF, CNMI Department of Public Safety and Haut-Commissariat de la République en Nouvelle-Calédonie Ms Mereseini Rakuita the Principal Strategic Lead for Pacific Women said, “Intimate partner violence or family violence continues to be one of the graved most pervasive forms of human rights violations in the world today.
Statistics tell us that as a region we have the highest prevalence rate of GBV in the world. Whilst 1 in 3 women worldwide would have suffered some form of violence in their lifetime, for us in the pacific, its 2 in 3 women – double the global average”. Ms Rakuita said GBV affected more than just the victim as it affects families, communities and society.
“To put this into context, in Fiji for example, violence against women and girls costs the economy approximately $300m per year. This is the cost of the impact of GBV – from the police, health services, judiciary, counselling and social services, lost productivity etc. This is equivalent to 7% of Fiji’s GDP. This is why we say that family violence is not a private matter but that it is everybody’s business”.
Niue Chief of Police Tim Wilson who also serves as the Executive lead of the PICP Family Harm Programme said, “This is important work, gender family harm, gender issues, domestic violence is difficult everywhere. There is not a single place, region or country that has found the magic fix, but hopefully we can find ways to make a huge impact for our people and our countries”.
Fiji’s Acting Commissioner of Police Juki Fong Chew while addressing the forum said Fiji over the last five year period had recorded worrying trends on Gender Based Violence. From 2018 to 2022, serious offences of crimes against women were assault causing actual bodily harm recording 9,126 cases, murder 32 cases, common Assault 1,363 cases and sexual offences 1,555 cases.
Crimes against children recorded 7,226 reported cases between 2018 to 2022 where 5,017 of the victims were girls, with the most prevalent offences being assault and sexual offences.
The Acting Commissioner while acknowledging the collaborative efforts to address GBV said, “I am told that the outcome of this workshop is for the PICP to have a stronger focus on ending violence against women and girls and improve response and services to gender-based violence. As you look outwards and see what can be done to address gender based violence, it is imperative that you also look within, and ask what can we do better. A common narrative is that Police are not well trained to handle GBV cases. Some feel that they are further victimized when reporting to Police".
The purpose of the regional workshop is to bring together all the Gender family harm Programme Managers and leads from across the PICP to discuss and map a way forward in implementing the PICP GFH Programme.
The key outcome of the workshop is for PICP members to have a stronger focus on ending violence against women and girls and improve their services to support survivors of gender-based violence.
#OurBluePacific #SaferTogether #PacificPeoples #GFHPacific2023 #PacificChiefsofPolice #GBVfreePacific
