A visit by Australia’s Ambassador for Gender Equality Ms. Stephanie Copus Campbell with the Samoa
Victim Support Group (SVSG), highlighted the important role of women at the forefront of action, while
continuing the call to action towards gender equality.
The visit and meeting were held at the Sakura House, a refuge set up by the SVSG in 2021, as a temporary
shelter for abused women and their children.
When the Ambassador visited the Sakura House, there was a young mother with her one day old child.
They have been sheltered by the SVSG overnight, when the mother was discharged from the hospital.
The secured and peaceful environment at the Sakura House provided a safe space for the young mother to
rest, to recover from her birthing, to undertake counselling support and to heal.
The meeting provided SVSG with the opportunity to share on its work in the gender equality space in
Samoa; its case management services, the Helpline service and the need for operators 24/7, the SVSG
village representatives, trained under the Samoa Gender Partnership Program (SGPP), as well as the
organizational strengthening as an outcome of the SGPP.
The conversations also covered the causes of violence affecting women, the financial distress, the poverty
which increases the vulnerability of the most marginalized population, and support for more economic
opportunites for women, better representation in decision-making and greater protections from gender-
based violence.
The success of the Nofotane Program by SVSG was discussed and how the economic empowerment
concept has been adopted to other areas of SVSG’s work, such as addressing child labour, and influencing
behavioural change for women ofenders of violence.
According to the SVSG President Siliniu Lina Chang, “The partnership with the Australian Department of
Foreign Affairs and Trade, as one of the grantees of the Samoa Gender Partnership Program through the
Tautua, enabled SVSG to build a stronger community approach towards GBV responsiveness. This is
through its village representatives, its support services, its behavioural change programs for offenders of
violence, and a stronger organizational capacity.”
“The visit and the meeting with Australia’s Ambassador for Gender Equality, reiterated the importance of
women’s role in taking action, and amplifying the call to action, towards gender equality in Samoa.”