Gender-Based Violence Counsellor Training Package for the Pacific

The 29th of November 2021 marked the culmination of progressing decades of work towards standardising approaches to gender-based violence counselling in the Pacific, led by the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) in partnership with the Pacific Women’s Network Against Violence Against Women and UN Women Fiji Multi-Country Office.

Shared Shamima Ali, Coordinator, Fiji Women’s Crisis Center, and Pacific Women’s Network Against Violence Against Women Chair: “In response to a need for a uniform and consistent approach to counsellor training in the region, we at the FWCC, collaborated with the Pacific Women’s Network Against Violence Against Women, and UN Women in adapting the counsellor training materials previously developed and used by FWCC across the region over the last three decades, for this training package. The package has been adapted to be used by new and experienced trainers from Pacific Island Countries working on violence against women and girls and women’s human rights.”

	Basic Gender-Based Violence Counsellor Training Manual The Gender-Based Violence Counsellor Training Package is composed of three modules with a total of 20 sessions, including components on a survivor-centered approach, ethical and legal foundations, and functional competencies of basic Domestic Violence/Gender-Based Violence Counselling. The entire training curriculum aims to develop specialised counsellor competencies outlined in the Competency Framework for Basic Domestic Violence/Gender-Based Violence Counselling Registry (in practice in Solomon Islands and Kiribati and applied to a regional level).
	This Basic Gender-Based Violence Counsellor Training Program Training-of-Trainers Guide is an accompaniment to the Basic Gender-Based Violence Counsellor Training Manual (above). It serves as a quick guide on what trainers should do in order to plan and conduct a counsellor training on gender-based violence —from the design and planning, through to the implementation and evaluation. A list of resources, such as manuals and facilitators’ toolkits are also listed in each section for additional reading to supplement this Guide.
	This Basic Gender-Based Violence Counsellor Training Participant Workbook is a collation of handouts used across the full 10-days of training. It can be used by participants during and after the training to facilitate their learning and competency mastery.

Training methods are highly participatory and use both small group and extensive group discussions. Participants are asked to practice the skills during the sessions and reflect on their own experiences and beliefs, enabling them to develop an impartial and empathetic application of the learned skills.

The roll-out of this package is supported by the three agencies, with gradual and staggered trainings across the region as countries work to align this curriculum with other national training and learning activities.

Acknowledgements
The development of the GBV Counsellor Training package was made possible with contribution from gender-based counselling experts and crisis centre managers in the countries supported by the Pacific Partnership to End Violence Against Women and Girls (Pacific Partnership). We thank them for their technical advice and support in editing and finalising the training manual:

Fiji
Shamima Ali, Coordinator, Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre
Shobna Devi, Counsellor Supervisor, Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre

Kiribati
Teretia Tokam, Executive Director, Kiribati Women and Children Support Centre
Christina Tekena, Senior Social Welfare Officer, Ministry of Women, Youth and Social Affairs

Solomon Islands
Lorio Sisilio, Coordinator, Family Support Centre
Andellah James, Counsellor Supervisor, Family Support Centre

Tonga
‘Ofa Guttenbeil Likiliki, Executive Director, Tonga Women and Children Crisis Centre
Lesila To’ia, Senior Counsellor, Tonga Women and Children Crisis Centre

Vanuatu
Merilyn Tahi, Coordinator, Vanuatu Women’s Centre

Special thanks to Katherine Marie Belen, the training manual’s content developer, for her experience, passion, and commitment during the project.

This work has been made possible through the long-time support of the Government of Australia to crisis centres across the region, and the Pacific Partnership to End Violence Against Women and Girls (Pacific Partnership), funded primarily by the European Union, the Government of Australia and New Zealand, and UN Women.

UN Women’s support is through the Pacific Partnership to End Violence Against Women and Girls (Pacific Partnership). The Pacific Partnership brings together governments, civil society organisations, communities and other partners to promote gender equality, prevent violence against women and girls (VAWG), and increase access to quality response services for survivors. The Pacific Partnership is funded primarily by the European Union, and the Governments of Australia and New Zealand, and UN Women, and is led by the Pacific Community (SPC), UN Women and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.