Major funding agreement signed between Australia and the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre

20 October 2009

Australia will provide A$5.3 million over the next six years as part of its continued support to the work of the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC).

These funds will enable the FWCC to provide crisis counseling, legal advice, advocacy, training, education and awareness, and other support services for women survivors of violence.

Signing a funding agreement in Suva today the Australian High Commissioner, Mr James Batley, noted that the FWCC has been performing this vital role for 25 years and Australia was proud to have provided financial support to the Centre since 1989.

“Australia’s support for the work of the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre is a core component of our contribution to efforts to eliminate violence against women in Fiji and elsewhere in the region,” Mr Batley said.
“Reducing violence against women is crucial to achieving gender equality and safer and more prosperous communities,” Mr Batley said. “In this regard, Australia is intensifying its efforts to address violence against women in Australia and the Pacific region and aspires to be an international leader on this issue in partnership with governments, civil society groups and multilateral organizations.”

A study carried out by the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre has revealed that up to 66 per cent of women surveyed had experienced physical violence from their partner, and up to 30 per cent of victims reported being subjected to repeated abuse. In 2002, the Governor of Fiji’s Reserve Bank calculated that violence against women costs Fiji’s economy 7% of its gross domestic product (GDP).

On 11 August 2009 the Australian Government launched a new framework, Stop Violence: Responding to Violence against Women in Melanesia and East Timor, to help eliminate violence against women in Melanesia and East Timor, including in Fiji. This new phase of Australian funding for the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre is a major part of implementing this framework.
“The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre has over many years provided counseling and support services to more than 18,000 people. Equally important, the Centre serves as a powerful voice for women and children through lobbying and conducting education campaigns to change attitudes regarding violence against women,” Mr Batley said.

The FWCC also provides training and mentoring to other groups across the Pacific to enhance the availability and quality of services to women who have been subjected to violence.

**ENDS**