Gender Based Violence and Child Abuse study underway
 

Mia Rimon Gender Based Violence Project Regional Coordinator

In the Pacific, gender based violence and child abuse are increasingly recognized as serious issues. However, there is limited knowledge about the problems including their causes, prevalence and impacts. SPC’s Human Development Programme, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund and AusAID, is currently carrying out a three year study on gender based violence and child abuse in Kiribati and Solomon Islands. The study follows on the Samoa Family Health and Safety Study (SFHSS) which was funded by UNFPA in 2001 and implemented by SPC, which is a component of the larger Pacific Multi-site Study on the effects of violence against women on family health and safety. The Multi-site Study is based on a WHO study design that was modified to suit the Samoa situation yet allowed comparison with similar studies in other parts of the world.

Samoa represented Polynesia, one of three sub-regions in the Pacific. Under this current project, the two other sub-regions, Micronesia and Melanesia, are represented by Kiribati and Solomon Islands respectively.

The present study aims to discover the causes and consequences of domestic violence and related child abuse and what forms of protection currently exist against it. It also aims to help identify ways to reduce the prevalence of domestic violence and child abuse.

Part of the research involves finding out what other studies on gender based violence and child abuse have been undertaken or are planned in the region.

The outcomes of the study will help contribute to the provision of better information and training to various stakeholders such as police and health care personnel. This in turn, will improve the response to domestic violence and the assistance given to victims.

“The overwhelmingly positive support from the host governments and the tangible input of governmental staff in focal point Ministries has been substantial” says Regional Coordinator, Mia Rimon. “The National Teams have already been able to implement early interventions to support stakeholders in both the Solomon Islands and Kiribati, in such areas as provision of assistance to the Police, to the town councils in areas of high incidence of violence, and to NGOs and Faith Based Organizations who are providing shelter and counselling to victims of domestic violence and child abuse on a daily basis. These first interventions have taken the form of advocacy, awareness, training, and outreach.”

The research will be followed by the development and implementation of appropriate interventions to address gender based violence and child abuse. Such methods could include advocating for policy or legislative reforms to address gender based violence and child abuse, strengthening the capacity of NGO’s and other bodies to address the problems in communities, providing specialized skills training to health care workers, and introducing gender based violence modules into courses at health training institutions.

Both the governments of Kiribati and Solomon Islands are highly participatory in all phases of the study and, as the results come through, they will be involved in the intervention planning and implementation.
 

Contact
For more information please contact Tione Chinula, SPC Human Development Programme Advocacy and Communications Officer (Tel: +687 26 01 57 or e-mail tionec@spc.int); or Mia Rimon, Gender Based Violence Project Regional Coordinator et miar@spc.int)