Ending violence against women toolkit first of its kind in the Pacific Featured
Hon. Sosefo Fe’aomoeata Vakata (Minister of Internal Affairs), ‘Ofa Likiliki (Director of WCCC), His Excellency Mr Brett Aldam (Australian High Commissioner) and Rhema Misa (Director of Naunau ‘o e ‘Alamaite Tonga – NATA (a disability organisation)). The Minister and the High Commissioner co-launched the Ending Violence Against women and girls toolkit.
Nuku'alofa, 27 July 2015. Are’tiki is like many other Pacific towns and villages. Women face a number of challenges including fewer educational and economic opportunities, limited access to reproductive health services, poor representation in decision-making and high rates of violence.
Her idea was to design a project that promoted safe and respectful relationships between young people in her community. The problem was, she wasn’t sure where to start; how to design and implement a project, or where to source funding for it.
Moana, her organisation and the community of Are’tiki are fictional, but the challenges she faces in getting her project off the ground are similar to those faced by activists and organisations around the Pacific as they work to end violence against women and girls in the region. A series of prevalence studies conducted in countries across the Pacific shows that two in three women experience some type of violence in their lifetime, mostly from their partners or husbands, a figure that is twice the global average.
Moana’s story is woven through a new toolkit launched on Thursday July 23 by UN Women, providing an evolving case study that helps to guide readers through the steps needed to create and implement effective projects to make a meaningful difference on the ground for women and girls, as well as secure the funding needed to make them sustainable.
The toolkit, titled “How to design projects to end violence against women and girls”, is the first of its kind in the Pacific. It has been developed by UN Women through its Pacific Regional Ending Violence against Women Facility Fund (Pacific Fund), with funding from the Australian Government. It was co-launched by the Minister for Internal Affairs, Hon. Sosefo Fe’aomoeata Vakata and the Australian High Commissioner, Mr Brett Aldam at the Davina Restaurant on Saturday 25 July 2015.
Designed to be as practical and user-friendly as possible, the toolkit is a step-by-step guide to every stage of the project cycle – from basic concepts such as gender, human rights and project design through to needs assessments, workplans, data collection, media outreach, stakeholder relationships and monitoring and evaluation techniques. It incorporates a number of group activities, tips, templates and online resources, as well as a list of potential funding sources.
The Hon. Minister says, “It is indeed quite an accomplishment to have a toolkit that is in context of the Pacific Island experiences of violence against women, thus providing sufficient information and activities. To also use information from stakeholders contributing to the development of the toolkit makes this resource more special because it has been tailored specifically to meet their needs. We can be ensured of improved outcomes in analysis, planning, implementation, and lessons to continue building upon.”
The Australian Government is a major funding partner in the Pacific and the Australian High Commissioner Mr Brett Aldam co-launched the toolkit with the Minister of Internal Affairs. Mr Aldam quoted in his keynote remarks the emphasis that ending violence against women is not Tonga’s problem alone nor is it unique to the Pacific. It is a problem that affects all of our communities and our countries.
His Excellency quoted from Rosie Batty’s acceptance speech when she was made Australian of the Year in January this year. “For those of you who don’t know who Rosie Batty is, she has become a tireless campaigner to protect women and children from family violence in Australia after her son, Luke, was killed by his father at cricket practice early last year. After being named Australian of the Year Rosie Batty said and I quote: “Whilst we celebrate the wonderful country that we live in today, there remains a serious epidemic across our nation.
No matter where you live, family violence exists in every pocket of every neighbourhood. It does not discriminate and it is across all sections of our society. Family violence may happen behind closed doors but it does need to be brought out from these shadows and into broad daylight. One in six women has experienced physical or sexual abuse by a current or former partner. One in four children and at least one woman a week is killed.” She went on to say: “To the Australian people, look around. Do not ignore what you see and what you know is wrong.
Speak up when violence against women is trivialised. To men, we need you to challenge each other and become part of the solution. Raise the conversation and don’t shy away from this uncomfortable topic. We cannot do this without you. To the women and children who are unsafe, in hiding or living in fear, who have changed their names, left their extended families and moved from their communities to find safety, you do not deserve to live a life that is dictated by violence. You are not to blame.”
UN Women’s Representative at the Fiji Multi-Country Office in Suva, Aleta Miller, says the toolkit has been developed to provide organisations with a resource that supports them on some of the more technical aspects of project planning, design, implementation and evaluation that are required by donors.
“There is no shortage of passion, ideas, knowledge and understanding when it comes to ending violence against women and girls in Pacific communities. This toolkit is designed to help transform that passion and knowledge into realistic and effective projects that a donor can be excited about and confident to fund. All of which will take us that much closer to our ultimate goal of ensuring that every woman and girl in the Pacific can live a life free from violence.”
UN Women’s Pacific Fund provides grants of up to USD100,000 and extensive capacity building support to government departments and civil society organisations for projects working specifically towards ending violence against women and girls in the region. Funded by the Australian Government, the Pacific Fund has to date authorised 42 grants across seven countries for a total of more than USD1.7 million.
“How to design projects to end violence against women and girls: a step-by-step guide to taking action” is now available for download, free of charge: http://bit.do/7u35
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