{"id":11811,"date":"2025-06-19T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T22:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/?p=11811"},"modified":"2025-06-17T13:19:54","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T03:19:54","slug":"listening-learning-leading-pacific-pathways-to-prevent-violence-against-women-and-girls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/asiainsights\/listening-learning-leading-pacific-pathways-to-prevent-violence-against-women-and-girls\/","title":{"rendered":"Listening, learning, leading: Pacific pathways to prevent violence against women and girls"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

STEPHANIE COPUS CAMPBELL, KYLLIE CRIPPS, SARA E DAVIES<\/a>, JANE FISHER, ASHER FLYNN, SAUI\u2019S LOUISE MATAIA MILO, NALINI SINGH AND JACQUI TRUE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) remains one of the most pervasive human rights violations globally\u2014nowhere more so than in the Pacific region. While the region is often characterised by alarming statistics and framed through narratives of remoteness or cultural exceptionalism, this framing obscures the diversity, strength, and leadership within Pacific communities. At the 2024 World Health Summit, a group of Pacific researchers, leaders, and practitioners came together to challenge these narratives and shape a Pacific-centred path forward to prevent VAWG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A region of diversity and strength<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stretching across millions of square kilometres of ocean and more than 800,000 square kilometres of land, the Pacific is home to deeply diverse and interconnected communities. From Aotearoa New Zealand to Australia and across the South Pacific Islands, the region is shaped by complex histories, spiritual traditions, and systems of care and leadership\u2014many of which were disrupted by colonisation and continue to face external pressures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participants at the Summit acknowledged that prevention solutions must be rooted in local knowledge, Indigenous leadership, and holistic, culturally grounded approaches. As one panellist stated, \u201cWe cannot continue to impose external models of prevention. We need to decolonise our responses and embrace Pacific ways of knowing and doing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listening and learning from the community<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The session in Melbourne was not a panel in the traditional sense\u2014it was a community dialogue. Over 100 participants from the health, education and policy sectors shared ideas, voted on priorities, and contributed to a collective \u201cCall to Action\u201d for VAWG prevention. This collaborative approach mirrored the values underpinning Pacific-centred frameworks: relationality, respect, inclusion and collective responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key priorities that emerged included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n