SPC welcomes Nauru’s domestic Violence and Family Protection Bill

Yaren

The Domestic violence and Family Protection Bill, recently passed by the Nauru Parliament, will provide enforceable court orders to protect people who experience family violence.

The Family Health and Support Study on violence against women in Nauru in 2014 revealed 48% of women in intimate partner relationships have experienced physical and or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime.

The Pacific Community’s (SPC) Regional Rights Resources Team (RRRT) welcomed the passage of this Bill on 27 April and will now focus on supporting the implementation of the new law.

“Congratulations to the Nauru Parliament on the passage of its Domestic Violence and Family Protection Bill. This is a great achievement for the people of Nauru and we are looking forward to sharing good practices on the implementation of the new Acts by Solomon Islands and  Nauru,” RRRT Board member and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children & Family Affairs in Solomon Islands, Ethel Sigimanu, said.

“On behalf of the people of Nauru, I sincerely thank all those, who have been instrumental in the success of Nauru's Domestic Violence and Family Protection Act.  This has happened with the dedication and assistance of our Regional Partners, notably SPC’s RRRT, whose dedication to the realization of the Act has been as real and as constant as our own determination and I want to thank our Government, who has been a key stakeholder in helping our women to achieve this milestone in ensuring that our laws not only protect and safeguard us but also educates and trains us all as a nation to become better parents, partners, and most of all to become better individuals,” Nauru’s Minister for Home Affairs, Honorable Charmaine Scotty said.

Upon the request of the Nauru Government, RRRT provided technical assistance in the drafting of the domestic violence bill, conducting consultations with judges, magistrates, lawyers, leaders, police, health, education and community liaison officers that had specific roles within in the Bill.

The purpose of the consultations were to raise awareness of the contents of the draft bill, capture opinions of all stakeholders, and integrate consultation feedback into the draft document.

Lessons from the implementation of domestic violence laws in the Pacific and internationally were also considered in the drafting of the Bill.

RRRT acknowledges the generous support of the Government of Australia and the European Union in providing financial support for the organisation of the consultations involved.

Alongside Nauru, Fiji, Kosrae State in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Marshall Islands, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu have all passed Family Protection legislation.

Media contact:
Onorina Saukelo, RRRT Communications Assistant, [email protected] or +679 330 5582

Useful link:
SPC Regional Rights Resource Team

News Category
Media Release
0
Countries

Author(s)

Media Release
Nauru