Pacific Women’s Network convene to tackle gender-based violence

The Pacific Women’s Network Against Violence Against Women (PWNAVAW), alongside the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) and UN Women Fiji Multi-Country Office (MCO), gathered in Fiji this week in a bid to address gender-based violence in the Pacific. The Pacific has extremely high rates of gender inequality and violence against women, two times the average globally and with two thirds of Pacific women being affected by gender-based violence.  

This meeting more specifically discussed the roll-out of the Gender-Based Violence Counsellor Training Package for the Pacific which aims to combat the issue. Shamima Ali, FWCC Coordinator, and PWNAVAW Chair, says “Our aim is for all women and girl survivors across the Pacific to access uniform and consistent survivor-centered counselling from trained counsellors when they come to our centers.”