Male champion for Gender Equality

Saimasi, is breaking culture.

“I used to treat family violence as a private matter like how my father used to treat it.”

“But I’ve learnt and now understand that violence against women or any other form of violence is everyone's business. I have a responsibility as I am connected to the issue”.

Saimasi Suataga Aso is a Male Champion from the village of Nuusuatia, Safata, a deeply traditional rural village with a proud history of Samoa’s culture  and is home to 465 residents.  

Saimasi is a Community Trainer with the Samoa Umbrella for Non Government Organization (SUNGO) under the Spotlight Initiative. He has undertaken trainings to help him understand gender-based violence, empowerment of women, psycho-social support and First Aid psychological trainings to address violence.

Armed with his new-found knowledge, Saimasi testifies through the Samoan proverb, “E afua mai mauga manuia o nuú” – a metaphorical description of the fact that good leaders bring forth blessings and prosperity to a village.”

“I began to hold conversations with the village council as I have some influence, and as my entry point to head straight to the top of the village hierarchy. The prosperity of a village where there is zero violence starts from its leadership.”

“Nuusuatia never discuss domestic violence openly before.”

“That has changed. Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is now on the agenda of the village council meetings.”

“Since violence against women has become an issue of discussion, the village council implemented a Village Safety Committee to look into intimate partner violence (IPV) and VAWG. The committee has intervened in 10 cases of disputes between couples, which could have escalated. The council have been convinced, and now they have reinforced a village rule – No more hitting of women and children,” said Saimasi.

But Nuusuatia was not just dealing with violence against women, empowering women by giving them a voice in the village council is another change. Traditionally, the village council consists of male chiefs only.

“Bringing women into the decision-making forum is an empowerment milestone for our women. And as a result, after 35 years, the village council has instigated the goal of building a women’s center,” said Saimasi.

Saimasi’s was one of the few males that attended four Spotlight Initiative trainings coordinated by SUNGO, in partnership with UNDP, with support from UN Women, UNICEF and SoulTalk, a local counselling organization. The trainings fall under the Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Capacity Response Plan developed by the CSO EVAWG Taskforce led by SUNGO under Pillar 6 of the European Union and United Nations’ Spotlight Initiative, with a strong focus on strengthening civil society engagement to address gender norms and behaviours to prevent violence against women.

A total of 23 organizations plus male champions like Saimasi, a trained male community facilitator under SUNGO, attended all the trainings. 

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*The Spotlight Initiative is a EU-UN global initiative to support existing and ongoing national efforts towards ending violence against women and girls. The Spotlight Initiative is delivered by 5 UN agencies - UN Women, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF with the coordination lead by the Resident Coordinators Office.