Pacific Delegation Heads to 5th World Conference of Women’s Shelters: Regional Partners to Share Experiences and Strengthen Global Dialogue on Ending Gender-Based Violence
Date:
Suva, Fiji — A Pacific delegation of government and civil society representatives will participate in the 5th World Conference of Women’s Shelters (5WCWS) - the world’s largest gathering of grassroots organisations and frontline workers dedicated to ending gender-based violence (GBV) in Sydney, Australia from 15-18 September 2025.
The Pacific delegation’s participation reflects a strong and united regional commitment to ending GBV, bringing together government and civil society representatives from 17 organisations across nine Pacific countries including: Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. Participants will learn, share, and strengthen partnerships on a global stage.
The delegation is coordinated by UN Women and supported through the Pacific Partnership to End Violence Against Women and Girls (Pacific Partnership), funded primarily by the Government of Australia, and the European Union (EU), and coordinated by UN Women and the Pacific Community (SPC), in strategic partnership with the Pacific Islands Forum. Australia’s Pacific Women Lead program is supporting the delegation through an additional funding contribution.
As part of the official conference programme, delegates who are government representatives from Fiji, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, and Tonga will participate in a panel discussion titled: “Developing National Gender-Based Violence Multi-Sector Service Protocols in Contexts Highly Prone to Disasters and Climate Change Across the Pacific.” Delegates from Kiribati and Fiji will also be presenting posters highlighting learnings from the Strengthening Peaceful Villages primary prevention programme, and the recently launched Fiji National Shelter Guidelines on Responding to Cases of Gender-Based Violence. This session will focus on the innovative work being done across the region to establish coordinated, survivor-centered responses to GBV, particularly in settings regularly impacted by climate crises and natural disasters.
“In a region with some of the world’s highest levels of violence, shelters are not a luxury. They are lifesaving infrastructure. The Pacific delegation brings practical tools and hard-won lessons to the global stage - survivor pathways, national protocols, and climate-ready services - so frontline workers everywhere can adapt proven models.” said Alison Davidian, Representative, UN Women Fiji Multi-Country Office. “The World Conference of Women’s Shelters is an opportunity for our region to share, learn, and strengthen solidarity with a global community of advocates and practitioners.”
In addition to participating in formal sessions, the delegation will engage in knowledge exchange, advocacy, networking, skills-strengthening, with a focus on adapting good global practices to the Pacific context.
The 5th World Conference of Women’s Shelters brings together thousands of participants from around the world and serves as a vital platform for collective action, learning and inspiration in the global movement to end violence against women and girls.
Read more about the status of safe shelter services in there Pacific in this information brief.
Media enquiries should be directed to:
Shazia Usman
Communications and Media Specialist
Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Programme
UN Women Fiji Multi-Country Office
Mobile: +679 9228389
Email: [ Click to reveal ]
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Pacific Partnership to End Violence Against Women and Girls (Pacific Partnership)
The Pacific region has some of the highest rates of violence against women recorded in the world – twice the global average with an estimated two in every three Pacific women impacted by gender-based violence. Along with high rates of violence – a grave human rights violation - women and girls in the Pacific region experience constant and continual inequalities including low levels of participation in decision-making, limited economic opportunities, and restricted access to critical services and rights.
The Pacific Partnership brings together governments, civil society organisations, communities, and other partners to promote gender equality, prevent violence against women and girls, and increase access to quality response services for survivors. In Phase II, the USD17.0 million partnership is funded primarily by the Government of Australia (USD 8.8m), and the European Union (USD 8.2m), and coordinated by UN Women and the Pacific Community (SPC), in strategic partnership with the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).
It builds on the achievements of Phase I and wide-ranging regional and national partnership and initiatives on gender equality and ending violence against women and girls.