This is the ‘Gender Equality today for a sustainable tomorrow’ journey by Saimasi, a male champion from the village of Nuusuatia on the southern coast of Upolu:

“I am a son of Nuusuatia. I used to treat family violence as a private matter like how my father used to treat it. But I’ve learnt and now understand that violence against women is not private, it is everybody’s business. I have a responsibility  as I am connected to the issue”.

Saimasi Suataga Aso is a Male Champion from the village of Nuusuatia, Safata, a deeply traditional rural village with a proud history of Samoa’s culture and ways and home to 465 residents.  

Saimasi is a Community Trainer with the Samoa Umbrella for Non Government Organization (SUNGO) under the Spotlight Initiative. He has undertaken trainings to help him understand gender-based violence, empowerment of women, psycho-social support and First Aid psychological trainings to address violence. Armed with his new-found knowledge, Saimasi testifies through the Samoan proverb, “E afua mai mauga manuia o nuú” – The blessings and prosperity of a village spring and flow from the top of the mountains.

“I began to hold conversations with the village council as I have some influence, and as my entry point to head straight to the top of the village hierarchy. The prosperity of a village where there is zero violence starts from its leadership. Our village never used to talk about these issues openly before. Now when we gather to discuss issues, we would put matters of violence against women and girls (VAWG) on the meeting agenda. As a result, the village council implemented a Village Safety Committee to look into intimate partner violence (IPV) and VAWG. The committee has intervened in 10 cases of disputes between couples, which could have escalated had they not. The council have been convinced, and now they have reinforced a village rule – No more hitting of women and children,” said Saimasi.

Furthermore, a historical village first has also occurred where women and the village council meet together to dialogue on matters and bring solutions to the table in a collective collaboration.

“Bringing women into the decision-making forum is an empowerment milestone for our women. And as a result, after 35 years, the village council has instigated the goal of building a women’s center,” said Saimasi.

Saimasi was one of the few males that attended four Spotlight Initiative trainings coordinated by SUNGO, in partnership with UNDP, with support from UN Women, UNICEF and SoulTalk, a local counselling organization. The trainings fall under the Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Capacity Response Plan developed by the CSO EVAWG Taskforce led by SUNGO under Pillar 6 of the European Union and United Nations’ Spotlight Initiative, with a strong focus on strengthening civil society engagement to address gender norms and behaviours to prevent violence against women. A total of 23 organizations plus male champions like Saimasi, a trained male community facilitator under SUNGO, attended all the trainings.