PARTICIPANTS that attended the five days Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) said that the training was really helpful.
A workshop on Primary Prevention in the Pacific was held at the CYP Leaf Hut, Panatina Campus last week and ended on Thursday.
It was a UN – SIG Joint Initiative working to end violence against women and girls with a special focus on engaging with men and boys.
In an interview with this paper at the closing day last week, Jully Makini a Family Support Organization (FSO) representative based in Gizo, Western Province said that the training is very helpful.
“This training is really helpful to me as a person based in the rural setting.
“I have learned about how to deal with men and boys to solve issues relating to violence against women and girls, and how women see men as an ordinary person.
“What I learn from this training is how men and women can share equal responsibilities and building a stronger relationship at home,” Mrs Makini said.
She added that her biggest challenge will be how to preach the message to communities in the province when she goes back.
Julieanne Wickham from the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children, and Family Affairs said, that one thing that stands out is, she has built the partnership of her ministry through the forum.
“For me, one thing that stands out from this capacity building training is, I came to build partnership of the Ministry of Women through this forum.
“I am able to meet with people working within other sectors of the government and able to convince them that Violence Against Women is relevant at their sector.
“All of us get it that this issue is a cross cutting one and we must work together in partnership to address this issue.
“What I see from this training is, a lot of work that our stakeholders did is not primary prevention not much as I would like to see,” she said.
Ms Wickham said that she hoped from the training, a lot of the participants have understood further the areas that they need to put more effort on.
The donors of the training were, DFAT of Australia together with the United Nations Trust Fund to end violence against women.
By RONALD TOITO’ONA
