Through Australian aid, the Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development program (Pacific Women) is partnering with Women United Together Marshall Islands (WUTMI) in the Marshall Islands to end violence against women by supporting the first ever support service for women survivors of violence.
WUTMI, established in 1987, is the leading voice addressing violence against women and girls in the Marshall Islands. The organisation's structure, with membership from 22 of the 24 outer islands, gives WUTMI an ability to reach remote and vulnerable communities.
In 2014, in recognition of their efforts, Pacific Women supported WUTMI to engage a Domestic Violence Counselling Service Adviser to work with them to develop a support service for women and their children who have experienced domestic violence. Working alongside Ms Kathryn Relang, WUTMI's Director, and the rest of the WUTMI team, the Adviser is also assisting to strengthen the knowledge and skills of WUTMI staff to provide crisis and case management support to women and children experiencing domestic violence.
In 2015 WUTMI, with additional support from Pacific Women, implemented a comprehensive community engagement program to help inform the design of the proposed service, involving 19 participatory workshops with more than 188 women and men from six outer island atolls. Early results show that women want a range of support services including: safe accommodation for women who are experiencing violence; a focus on prevention of violence against women through community education and awareness raising regarding both women's rights and the laws related to violence against women; intervention programs with men who choose to commit violence; and assistance in accessing justice, especially through the police.
A number of issues emerged from the consultations, including that the majority of the women were unaware of the notion of 'violence against women'. Many believed that violence against women was a normal or natural way of life. Participants in the consultations included representatives from women's groups who also identified the lack of awareness of domestic violence as a crime, as one of the main reasons why violence against women is an underreported experience and have questioned the reliability of the official statistics of the number of women and girls experiencing domestic violence in the Marshall Islands.
More information
- DFAT supports 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence 25 November – 10 December 2015
- Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development
- Overview of Australia's aid program to the Marshall Islands
