More coordinated services for Kiribati women and girl survivors of violence

Tarawa, Kiribati — Women and children in Kiribati confronted by violence will have improved access to more timely and relevant services across government and civil society agencies.

The Kiribati Government through Ministry of Women, Youth, Sport and Social Affairs (MWYSSA) has launched its Kiribati Standard Operating Procedures for Gender-Based Violence Response, in partnership with the SafeNet network of government and non-government frontline service providers and UN Women.

The launch of the Standard Operating Procedures is a major achievement and coincides with the start of this year’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, which starts on 25 November and continues to Human Rights Day on 10 December.

Kiribati Vice President and Minister for MWYSSA, Mr Kourabi Nenem, explained: “this is part of the government’s increasing commitment to address this issue, following the Kiribati Family Health & Support Study that showed the devastating levels and results of domestic violence in Kiribati impacting on women and children.”

“In response to the study and to meet survivors’ needs, the government established the SafeNet committee within MWYSSA, that has now led the development of the Kiribati Standard Operating Procedures for Gender-Based Violence Response guidebook. He further explained that: “the government is escalating its commitment and leading combined efforts to provide more practical and institutional support to keep women and children safe in their homes and communities, and to assist survivors to best recover from the experiences they have faced.”

The launch of the SOPs is one of a number of key initiatives being led by the Government of Kiribati to address the high rates of women experiencing violence by an intimate partner, as documented in the Kiribati Family Health & Support Study (2010) , which also includes the Strengthening Peaceful Villages project which aims to prevent violence within villages.

The SOPs provide a clear roadmap for different government and non-government organisations to work together more effectively - and across various sectors from health to justice - to better provide the services needed by survivors.

The document defines key terms and sets Minimum Standards of practice; outlines SafeNet partner roles and responsibilities; and provides guiding principles to ensure each survivor’s needs are addressed from a rights-based and survivor-centred perspective. It also includes referral and risk assessment tools to ensure safe, coordinated responses between all sectors in line with the Minimum Standards.

SafeNet is a network of government and non-government frontline service providers who provide response and support services to survivors of violence – from police and health to crisis centre services. SafeNet is led by MWYSSA with technical and coordination support from UN Women through the United Nations Joint Global Programme on Essential Services for Women and Girls Subject to Violence (ESP), funded since 2017 by the Australian Government. From 2019, UN Women support for SafeNet will continue through the Pacific Partnership to End Violence Against Women and Girls, funded by the European Union and Australian Government with cost-sharing from UN Women.

The network’s members are: Ministry of Health and Medical Services, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Crisis Centre, Ministry of Women, Youth, Sport and Social Affairs, Kiribati Woman and Children Support Centre, Kiribati Police Service, Office of the People’s Lawyer and Office of the Attorney General.

UN Women’s Representative, Mr Nicolas Burniat praised the work of MWYSSA in leading development of the nation’s first multi-sectoral Standard Operating Procedures for Gender-Based Violence Response.“By having service providers working together to better coordinate referrals for survivors, and more clearly connecting frontline services, we can significantly increase the likelihood of women and girl survivors getting the quality help they need, when they need it,” Mr Burniat said.

“UN Women is delighted that Kiribati has joined other Pacific governments – namely Fiji and Solomon Islands – who have over the past year adopted for the first time service delivery protocols.”

Mrs Anne Kautu said: “With technical support from UN Women, the Government of Kiribati has led the development of this key document in collaboration with SafeNet members frontline service provider across health, police, counselling and advocacy, shelter, legal and judicial helping women and children survivors of gender-based violence (GBV).

“We gratefully acknowledge the significant contribution of all SafeNet stakeholders for their dedication and contribution to improve services for survivors of gender-based violence in Kiribati,”

“The Ministry acknowledges, and is grateful for, the significant contribution of all SafeNet stakeholders for their dedication and contribution they have put forward to improve the needed services for the survivors of gender-based violence in Kiribati.”