Through Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development (Pacific Women), the Australian Government has provided $99,000 to the Government of Kiribati to of help survivors of violence to access justice and to end violence against women and girls. The Domestic Violence and Sexual Offence (DVSO) Unit of the Kiribati Police Service is being supported to improve police handling of domestic violence cases, strengthen community awareness on domestic violence laws, human rights and access to support services, and support establishment of a temporary safe space for survivors of violence and sexual assault.
Following passage of the Te Rau N Te Mwenga (Family Peace) Act in Kiribati in 2014, the DVSO Unit identified the need to train police to understand their roles and responsibilities under the Act. This included the issuing and management of protection orders, essential case recording and investigation techniques as well as how to respond to survivors when they come to report their cases.
Training has been provided to police officers, special constables and village wardens to assist them to effectively respond to cases of domestic violence and sexual assault. From October 2014 to August 2015, a total of 182 people participated in training sessions on eight islands. Before the training, special constables on the outer islands were particularly ill-equipped to address these challenges as they had never had formal training on their roles and powers prior to joining the police.
Representatives from the Office of the Attorney-General, the People's Lawyer, Ministry of Women, Youth and Social Affairs and the DVSO Unit jointly delivered the training. This collaborative approach also extended to community awareness activities, with 24 public forums and four week-long radio programs held to share messages on the domestic violence legislation; the role of the police in response to violence; the DVSO Unit's services and hotline number which people can call; human rights and gender equality.
Feedback from some of the women participants included that 'it was important to them to know their rights and that they can report assault perpetrated on them by their husbands to the police'. Some people were not happy with the messages as they said 'it was against culture', while others said they would stop mistreating their partners and assist in reporting violence in their community to the police.
The DVSO Unit's office at the Police Headquarters in Betio was also extended to include a 'comfort lounge'. This two room safe space provides survivors of violence with temporary shelter while waiting further referral to relevant services, such as medical, legal, counselling or accommodation at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart refuge. It can also be used as a space where survivors are briefed on the court process or wait before their court hearing. Since May 2015, the centre has been available to survivors and their children.
