Project Brief: Pacific Regional Ending Violence against Women Facility Fund

A series of Family Health and Safety studies carried out in six Pacific countries found that more than 60% of women aged 15-49 in Fiji, Solomon Islands and Kiribati have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner; more than 60% of women in the same age group in Samoa and Tonga have experienced physical violence from a non-partner. Violence against girls is also a serious problem in the Pacific. In Vanuatu and Solomon Islands more than 30% of women reported they had been sexually abused before their 15th birthday. In Kiribati and Fiji the number was 20%.6 Gender-based violence brings with it a raft of consequences for the individuals involved, their families and communities, as well as at regional and national levels. It has a substantial economic impact through increased healthcare, social services, and policing costs...