The Representative UN Women Fiji Multi Country Office, Sandra Bernklau

The Representative of Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation in Fiji

Esteemed panelists 

Colleagues 

Ladies and gentlemen

I wish to take this opportunity to welcome you all to the first multi-country event organized by UNDP Pacific and supported by New Zealand Foreign Affairs and Trade. The event officially inaugurates the starting of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence today, to 10 December, Human Rights Day. This event is part of a three planned series of gatherings that will take place on Facebook in the following weeks. Representatives from Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu and FSM, from government, civil society, women’s organizations, private sector, will share their experiences and contribute to a fruitful discussion. 

Under the Theme “End Violence against Women Now! Respond, Innovate and Leave no One Behind to Orange the World”, UNDP Pacific Office joins the call upon activists, governments, and UN partners to mobilize people and highlight issues relevant to preventing and ending violence against women and girls, not only once a year, but every month and every day. As in previous years, the colour orange will be used to represent a brighter future, free from violence against women and girls, as a unifying theme running through all the global activities of the UNiTE Campaign (United Nations Secretary-General’s Campaign by 2030 to End Violence against Women).

Today, 25 November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and we want to emphasize the importance of prevention and response initiatives in the fight against GBV. 

UNDP has been supporting GBV prevention and response work through the Spotlight Initiative in Vanuatu and Fiji. The Spotlight Initiative has supported the work around survivor’s access to services, development training manuals and guidelines on GBV, community awareness creation on GBV, trained women on GBV and reproductive health rights, capacity building and training of key stakeholders, plans to renovate Public Prosecutors office, training to MPs in gender-sensitive budgeting in the Solomon Islands and Fiji.

During the event, we will hear from our expert partners and their experiences on how to prevent and respond to violence during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. 

COVID-19 has exacerbated all the risk factors for VAWG, including unemployment and poverty which reinforced many of the root causes such as gender stereotypes and harmful social norms. In this context of lockdown measures and physical distancing, preventing and responding to gender-based violence in the Pacific region is more crucial than ever. 

Today, we aim at raising awareness on prevention actions against GBV and the existing GBV response services available in the region, to show how services for survivors of GBV have been essential during COVID-19 lockdowns, but also how GBV is deeply interconnected with other vulnerability factors such as extreme weather events and environment degradation.  

To conclude, I wish to call on all stakeholders to join hands to hands to fight violence against women and girls and offer services to survivors of GBV. The building better and building forward together for post COVID-19 should have a focus on GBV prevention and response and ensure women and girls leave a world free of violence. I thank you all for joining in the launch of 16 days of Activism.