Since the COVID-19 pandemic, women and girls have been isolated from support services and unable to report domestic violence, gender-based violence and partner violence, says Christine Clarke.

Ms Clarke is Australia’s Ambassador for Women and Girls, attending the third annual meeting of the Regional Working Group on the Implementation of Family Protection/Domestic Violence Legislation at Nadi’s Tanoa International Hotel this week.

She has highlighted that the issue of violence against women and girls in the Pacific was a significant.

Around 60 per cent of women and girls in the Pacific have been impacted by gender-based violence, family, domestic violence and in particular intimate partner violence. She said the issue was exacerbated by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have seen very clear data that shows an increase in violence against women and girls and different organisations, different countries have introduced legislation across the Pacific to try and address these issues and they’re at different rates of progress on those issues.”

“We all need to work together to ensure that we end violence against women and girls,” she said.

She said Australia provided support to the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre, so that those services were available and continued to lead in the space of addressing violence against women and girls.

To address the issue, she said it had to start with the Government.

“Australia’s Government is leading on this in Australia and providing support to the Pacific through the various mechanisms through our Pacific women lead programme to provide support to really to really help the region address this serious issue.”

She hopes for women and girls in Fiji to live a life free from violence.

Feedback: nicolette.chambers@fijisun.fj