"Turn your scars into stars," Vanessa Heleta tells abused women in Tonga. "Orange Day can be a day where we stand up and say enough is enough.”

Vanessa's Talitha Project ran a special "empowering program" at Tupou Tertiary Institute on Friday, 29 April, as part of their Orange Day activities funded by UN Women.

Orange Day is a United Nations campaign calling to end violence against women and girls and usually marked on the 25th of every month, (but the ANZAC Day commemoration was held on 25 April this year in Nuku'alofa).

Vanessa, the Director of Talitha, a Non-Government Organisation in Nuku’alofa, said their central role is to empower young women reach their full potential in all areas of life focusing their advocacy in four main core areas of gender based violence: decision making skills, economic empowerment and sexual and reproductive heatlh rights.

Students performed skits and read poems in efforts to raise awareness and end violence against women and girls. "We also gave out pamphlets from the United Nations on 16 things one can do to end violence against women and girls," she said.

"One of Talitha Project's mandates is to ensure that girls enjoy life in full, free from any forms of violence or threats of violence at any place, or that undermines their status and dignity."

Violence

Vanessa said according to Ma'a Fafine mo e Famili national study on Violence against Women in 2009, 79% of Tongan women and girls have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.

She said in the last five-years, Talitha conducted its own workshops and conferences to over 2,000 young girls between 10- 25 years old throughout Tonga.

85% of them have shared that they have experienced some sort of physical, emotional and sexual violence, she said.

“The saddest thing is that they have accepted it and think it's normal. Even though they smile and giggle but you can see the scars. This is where empowerment comes in, you can turn your scars into stars. Orange Day can be a day where we stand up and say enough is enough.”

This campaign is a call by UN Secretary- General, Ban Ki Moon to wear orange and take action to raise awareness and prevent violence against women and girls. 

Talitha and other women organisations, including the Women's Unit under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ma'a Fafine Mo e Famili, Women and Children Crisis Centre and Tonga National Center for Women and Children are at the forefront in working towards Eliminating Violence Against Women and Girls in Tonga.