Healing Samoa from the cycle of violence

With all our efforts towards ending violence against women and girls, it is crucial that we are reminded that the solution to this dilemma has always been with us and the problem itself is preventable.!

Alofa (love), fa’aaloalo (respect), fetausia’i (care) and puipui (protect) are guiding values that build character, instills peace and lays the foundation for safe families, villages and communities.

These are the cultural values that identify us as Samoans and maintain the social cohesiveness and harmony of individuals, families and communities, even in times of uncertainty.

Bringing families, communities and our country together has motivated the Spotlight Initiative  National Reference Group to initiate a “16 Days of Healing” Campaign.

This is a momentous Campaign as it enables a conversation amongst communities to share their beliefs and knowledge of the root causes of violence, and to share solutions to prevent violence against women and girls.

This Campaign aspires to instil messages of hope and healing to survivors of abuse and violence and encourage a transformational change of cultural and social norms that support violent actions that continue to put our women, children, families in grave danger. 

Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread, persistent, and devastating human rights violations in our world today. In Samoa, we are not excluded from the devastating impacts., This is why Samoa is supported under the Spotlight initiative (SI), a joint effort by the EU, UN, Samoan Government, civil society organizations and community based groups to tackle violence against women and girls particularly in intimate partner violence and domestic violence. It is a multi-faceted effort that focuses on innovative approaches in prevention, control and community response.

“Survivors live in fear,  and this Campaign hopes to remove the fear and restore their dignity” added Lemau Palaamo, Co-Chair of the CSO NRG.

This Campaign kickstarts CSO NRG  activities to advocate the Spotlight Initiative and its universal goal of ending violence against women and girls.

“We have ten arms that are diverse and well embedded in the community, that when banded together provides strength and unity for the EVAWG platform that we stand for”, Lemau said.

The 16 Days of Healing Campaign produced and directed by the Spotlight Initiative implementing agencies including UN Women, UNDP and the Resident Coordinators Office,  will feature panel conversations that are concluded with an appeal to take pride in our culture and our women and girls expressed through our art of dancing to the famous song…Samoa lo’u atunuu pele I le loto e, E mitamita lou agaga ia te Oe.

The 16 days of Activism to end violence against women and girls will be launched as a series of videos aired on TV 1 and UN Social media platforms from the 25 of November to the 10 of December.

 

Background

The Spotlight Initiative (SI) is a global partnership between the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG), including harmful practices.  The thematic focus of the SI for the Pacific region is Domestic Violence/Intimate Partner Violence (DV/IPV), which is primarily men’s physical and sexual violence against women, including psychological violence and emotional and economic abuse and controlling behaviours such as controlling when women can leave the house, access to finance and extreme jealousy.

The UN agencies involved in the implementation of the Spotlight Initiative includes, Women, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA and UNICEF.

For media inquiries, please contact:

In Apia: Aterina Samasoni-Pele, aterina.samasoni-pele@one.un.org, +685 762 91 45