$140m spent but GBV remains high

More than $140 million has been spent fighting gender-based violence (GBV) in Fiji since 2016, but the level of violence has still not fallen.

Fiji National University Vice-Chancellor Professor Unaisi Nabobo-Baba says the country’s response must be urgently rethought after 40 years of efforts, laws and policies have failed to make a clear difference.

Speaking at a high-level GBV dialogue at FNU in Suva today, Professor Nabobo-Baba said Fiji had the Pacific’s first National Action Plan on GBV, but the prevalence of violence had not changed.

She said both Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and Minister for Women Sashi Kiran acknowledged last year that the national response was not effective.

“This is a key concern that men who perpetrate the violence have largely been left out,” Ms Nabobo-Baba said.

Research involving 31 iTaukei men found that men who were the primary perpetrators had been almost entirely absent from research, consultation and the design of programmes aimed at stopping violence.

Ms Nabobo-Baba said Fiji could not expect to stop violence without reaching those who caused it.

She also challenged families, the vanua and churches to break the culture of silence around violence.

In response, Uniting World Pacific Office Regional Coordinator Rev Dr Cliff Bird said the church had an important role to play in changing attitudes and addressing violence within families and communities.

“Church can only interfere when everything starts from home,” Dr Bird said.

Meanwhile, Ms Nabobo-Baba said violence should also be treated as a public health issue, bringing prevention, screening, treatment, follow-up and better data into the national response.

“We need to produce a clear Call-to-Action for Government, the vanua and the Great Council of Chiefs.”

“After 40 years and $140m, Fiji needs action, not more talk,” Ms Nabobo-Baba said.

Feedback: rariqi.turner@fijisun.com.fj