The Samoa Village Health Survey coordinated by the Samoa Victim Support Group (SVSG) as part of a
research study into family violence in Samoa has reached the village of Falefa.
The Survey is part of a larger research study led by the University College of London (UCL) and
implemented in Samoa by the SVSG, the National University of Samoa (NUS) and the Samoa Bureau of
Statistics (SBS).
Over a two-day period in the village of Falefa, the survey reached a total of 180 participants, both men and
women.
The Falefa EVE Team members and their Mentor Mrs. Paupusi Chrichton played an important role in
ensuring that the survey was well coordinated. Falefa is the fifth out of ten selected villages involved in the
research study which started in March 2020 for completion in 2024.
In each of the 10 villages, two EVE Team members (female and male) and a Mentor, have been selected
from the SVSG village representatives. Since the project started, the EVE Team have been trained as local
researchers to work closely with the lead researcher, Dr. Jenevieve Mannell from the UCL.
According to one of the enumerators, the respondents were happy to be a part of the survey, as they felt
they were making a contribution towards ending violence against women and girls.
The research aims to understand the effectiveness of an intervention designed to address violence against
women and girls. A total of 10 villages (8 in Upolu and 2 in Savaii) were selected to be part of the research
study's efforts to develop an indigenous approach to preventing violence against women.
This week, the SVSG Community team, together with the enumerators who were trained to administer the
survey, are now continuing onto the big island of Savaii, for the survey administration for the villages of
Fagaee and Taga.
The SVSG President Siliniu Lina Chang acknowledged the support from the village of Falefa not only in
hosting the survey administration, but also in participating as respondents.