New article (rewritten)
In Matacaucau, an ordinary village meeting turned into a public pledge to end the silence around violence against women. Semi Cakau stood before his neighbours and admitted he never imagined speaking so openly about the issue, but he said the moment felt transformative for him and others in the village.
This week’s community awareness session on gender-based violence is part of a broader effort by Medical Services Pacific, a project started in 2024 with funding from the United Nations Trust Fund. The three-year initiative, titled Sensitising the Stakeholders and Communities Involved in the Prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls in Fiji, aims to shift harmful attitudes and behaviors through education, leadership development, and grassroots action.
To bolster local leadership, MSP has produced a Gatekeepers Toolkit available in both English and iTaukei. The toolkit is designed to help champions from men’s groups, women’s networks, youth organizations, faith-based leaders, and crime prevention teams to run tailored awareness activities and develop community action plans.
Isireli Nuku, MSP’s UNTF team leader, described the session as highly impactful. “The engagement level from the men was a standout,” he noted, adding that participants could map the toolkit’s scenarios to real-life domestic violence cases that have occurred in their own communities.
For Semi and others in Matacaucau, the session brought the issues into sharper focus. “Listening to stories and discussing how these issues affect our families and neighbours made it real for us,” he said. “It’s not something distant anymore; it’s happening here, and we must act.”
MSP plans follow-up visits to deepen understanding and support social groups in applying the toolkit’s principles. Ten villages, including Matacaucau, are currently being assessed on participation, communication, and leadership effectiveness. From this group, three villages will be selected to receive community billboards in 2026, serving as visible symbols of commitment and progress in preventing violence against women and girls.
For Semi, the path forward is clear. “We want to be the leaders our community needs. Breaking the silence is just the beginning. Now, it’s about standing up, speaking out, and protecting those who need us most.” His words reflect a broader movement of men in Fiji willing to step forward to transform their communities from within.
Context and broader trends
The Mats in Matacaucau echo a wider Pacific-wide push to address gender-based violence. In Fiji, parallel programs have already shown promise: in 2025, about 100 men from Rewa and Cakaudrove completed the Male Advocacy for Women’s Human Rights training, a program focused on fostering critical self-evaluation of men’s roles and responsibilities. Participants have reported husbands taking on more domestic duties and showing greater empathy, reinforcing the idea that personal attitude changes can ripple through families and communities.
This momentum fits within Fiji’s National Action Plan to Prevent Violence Against All Women and Girls (2021–2026), which has been highlighted by the Secretariat of the Action Plan as a key framework for collective, community-driven action. Campaigns like the 16 Days of Activism are cited as evidence of broad collaboration across government, civil society, and faith-based groups to reject violence and promote respect.
Experts warn that while funding and programs are essential, lasting change requires shifting mindsets. Shamima Ali, a leading advocate with the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre, has stressed that money alone cannot reduce violence unless attitudes—especially those linked to patriarchy and gender inequality—also change. She has highlighted gaps in services, such as shelters, while emphasizing the need for safe, dignified support for survivors and robust community accountability.
Looking ahead
The current MSP initiative, with its plan for follow-up visits and selective billboard placements in 2026, is part of a broader strategy to make prevention a tangible, visible, and locally owned effort. By empowering local gatekeepers and linking village-level work to national programs, Fiji is building a multi-pronged approach to reduce violence and foster more respectful relationships.
A hopeful note
Across Fiji, leaders from government and civil society are calling on men to take responsibility and to model respectful behavior at home and in the community. The growing willingness of men to engage in dialogue, challenge harmful norms, and support survivors signals a positive trajectory toward safer communities where women and girls can thrive.
Summary
A Fiji village embraces a turning point in the fight against gender-based violence, with Semi Cakau and others pledging to break the silence. The MSP-led initiative, backed by UN funding, introduces a Gatekeepers Toolkit to empower local champions, while follow-up visits and planned billboard visibility aim to sustain momentum. The effort aligns with national action plans and broader regional work that emphasizes men’s engagement, education, and community leadership as essential ingredients for long-term change.
Additional value and commentary
– This approach of training and supporting local male champions complements national programs and regional efforts, potentially increasing the likelihood of sustainable change by rooting prevention in everyday community life.
– The planned billboard initiative could provide ongoing visibility for progress, helping to keep communities accountable and motivated.
– The broader context—ranging from the 2025 male advocacy training to high-level calls for men to “respect women”—underscores the importance of aligning grassroots work with policy and leadership messaging.
– For readers: watch for follow-up reports on how the Gatekeepers Toolkit is adopted in other villages, and whether the three billboard sites become catalysts for measurable improvements in attitudes and reported violence.
Logical explanation
Engaging men directly in discussions about gender-based violence creates opportunities to interrupt the cycle of normalization and suppression that often perpetuates abuse. By combining education, leadership development, and community action planning with visible symbols of progress, the program aims to transform not only individual beliefs but also social norms at the village level, which is essential for lasting change in settings with strong communal ties.
Outlook
If the initiative sustains its momentum, expands the toolkit’s use beyond Matacaucau, and continues to connect village actions to national strategies, Fiji could see meaningful reductions in violence against women and girls and stronger, more equitable communities across the region.
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