Chiefs call for GBV fight to reach homes

Fiji’s fight against gender-based violence (GBV) cannot stop at policies, meetings and awareness campaigns. They say it must reach the villages and homes where many cases begin and remain hidden.

Chiefs are calling for GBV discussions to move beyond government offices and provincial meetings and reach the vanua and family unit.

Ratu Isikeli Mara, grandson of the late Tui Lau Ratu Kamisese Mara, made the call during a GBV dialogue in Nasinu today.

Ratu Isikeli said chiefs must be part of the conversation because issues discussed in the vanua were different from those raised in formal provincial meetings.

“Because that’s where it really trickles down right down to the family unit,” Ratu Isikeli said.

He said government could not assume that addressing GBV at provincial council level meant the message had reached communities.

Ratu Isikeli said chiefs had traditionally stayed out of certain spaces unless they were invited, making their involvement in the current dialogue important.

Roko Tui Bau Ratu Timoci Tavanavanua also believes the response must start much closer to home.

He warned that GBV remained largely hidden because victims often suffered in silence.

“Gender violence is really an issue that’s not talked about. It’s something that is sort of kept quiet,” Ratu Timoci said.

He said victims abused by their partners or spouses often kept it to themselves, meaning nothing was done.

Ratu Timoci said the family was at the centre of the problem and must also be part of the solution.

“Everything starts from the family. If the family is fragmented and divided, this is what’s going to happen.”

Both chiefs said the GBV response could not stop at policies, meetings and awareness campaigns.

They said the message must reach the vanua, the village and ultimately the home.

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