Feminist Peace Network

The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre kicked off its annual 16 Days of Activism
Against Gender-based violence campaign earlier than normal this year
with a workshop targeted at police officers working on the ground and
who are often the first point of contact for victims of crimes of
domestic violence and sexual assault. “The global theme for this year’s
campaign is focused on implementation”, said Shamima Ali, Coordinator of
FWCC. “This training which is being held in Savusavu fits in well with
the global theme because police officers are key implementers”.

The 16 Days of Activism Against Violence Against Women begins on
November 25 which is International Day of Action Against Violence
Against Women and ends on December 10 which is World Human Rights Day.
“We have been organizing events around this campaign since it began in
1991 and its good to see that now there are many activities being
organized around these important dates”, said Ali. However, Ali points
out that activism has become really critical especially in the current
political climate in Fiji. “We need to keep alerting people to the fact
that violence against women is a critical issue affecting our nation and
this becomes more so when there is a political crisis - we need to be
extra vigilant to ensure that services for women continue to respect
their rights and do not contribute to the violence perpetrated against
them”, said Ali.

A key feature of FWCC’s activities is the rural workshops around the
country. “Some of our staff from Suva and our branches in Nadi, Ba and
Labasa are supporting activities of the Women’s Interest Assistants in
the conducting of workshops in Kadavu, Rakiraki, Ba and Labasa. There
are also awareness sessions being conducted in villages in Ba and Vanua
Levu.”

The FWCC is launching its media campaign with television and newspaper
advertisements as well as radio talk shows.

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