Multi-million dollar Pacific programme to address gender equality and violence against women [1]
Friday, March 9, 2018 - 23:03. Updated on Tuesday, March 27, 2018 - 17:54.
Improving gender equality and addressing violence against women and girls will be the focus of a new EUR18.2 million regional programme announced on International Women’s Day, 8 March.
The new Pacific Partnership to End Violence Against Women and Girls (Pacific Partnership) is funded by the European Union (EUR12.7m) with targeted support from the Australian Government (EUR4.9m) and UN Women (EUR0.6m).
Under the programme, governments, civil society organisations, communities and other partners will work together to address the gender and violence against women and girls issues, as well as ensuring survivors can access quality response services easily.
Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation for the Pacific, HE Ambassador Julian Wilson, said the EU is strongly committed to this cause.
“We are proud to be funding this new and important partnership programme through the 11th European Development Fund in the Pacific, to address the causes of gender inequality and violence against women,” he said.
The programme started yesterday on International Women’s Day and “aims to deliver concrete results over the next years, turning each day into a women’s day.”
Australia’s High Commissioner to Fiji, John Feakes, said that in the Western Pacific Region, recent surveys suggest over 60 percent of women have experienced gender-based violence.
“Women and girls who experience violence deserve accessible and high quality essential services – including health, police, justice and social services – to help them recover. Through the Pacific Partnership we will also work with individuals and communities to consider the influence of social norms, attitudes and behaviours in preventing violence against women and girls.”
Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Dame Meg Taylor, said that “full inclusivity, equity and equality is a core value of the Forum and lies at the heart of its vision for a peaceful and prosperous Pacific.”
“As individuals we have a responsibility to uphold this and so do our governments and institutions. Civil society also has an important role to play in ensuring we are all accountable in our efforts to achieve this.”
UN Women Representative, Aleta Miller, said they will focus on promoting “gender equitable social norms at the individual and community level and by engaging key pillars of Pacific society such as faith and sport”.
The programme will initially target Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Island, Timor Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, and run for five years from January 2018 to December 2022.