Minister for Women, Children, and Social Protection, Lynda Tabuya, emphasized the significance of training and learning platforms in enhancing the skills and knowledge of service providers. She made these remarks during the certificate presentation for 42 participants of the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre’s (FWCC) 44th Flagship Regional Training Program.
This year’s training concentrated on issues related to gender, violence against women and girls, as well as human rights and development. Tabuya praised FWCC Coordinator Shamima Ali and her team for their commitment to addressing pressing concerns regarding gender-based violence and human rights. She underscored that as one of the founding members and secretariat of the Pacific Women’s Network Against Violence Against Women, the FWCC continually organizes such training to ensure that the issues affecting Pacific women and girls are acknowledged and addressed in national and regional initiatives.
Ali highlighted that the participants were exposed to various topics, including rape, domestic violence, sexual harassment, child abuse, human rights laws, and basic counseling training, advocacy, and lobbying. She expressed that the ultimate goal is to eliminate all forms of violence against women and children in the Pacific Region, which is why participants were carefully selected from organizations and institutions that are actively engaged in handling these matters.
Participants had the opportunity to discuss and analyze the causes, contributing factors, prevalence, severity, and trends in violence against women, girls, and children in diverse Pacific societies. Ali noted it is encouraging to see an increasing number of individuals dedicated to eliminating violence against women and girls seeking to attend the training.
The one-month Regional Training Program, held from July 29 to August 23, intended to equip participants with crucial knowledge and skills for effectively responding to and preventing all forms of violence against women and girls. Participants hailed from a wide range of civil society and government organizations across the region, including Samoa, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Cook Islands, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, West Papua, Nauru, and Fiji.