“This is a milestone for women of the Pacific,” said Hannah Harborow, Campaign Coordinator.

“Finally, for the first time in 40 years, the endemic issue of violence against women and girls has been taken seriously by Pacific Island Forum leaders in high-level dialogue.”

Rates of violence against women in the Pacific region are some of the highest in the world, according to Dr Jimmie Rodgers, Director-General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community. Given this, the pledge by forum leaders to place the issue at the highest level on their political agenda will be crucial to solving the problem.

We believe Pacific Island countries cannot fully achieve the development progress outlined in the Pacific Plan and the Millennium Development Goals without urgently addressing the severe and widespread problem of sexual and gender-based violence.

Violence not only has a devastating impact on individual women, but on communities and the Pacific region as a whole.

“Now we want to see Forum leaders translate their statement into action. They have committed to ensuring that all individuals have equal protection and access to justice. We need solutions that have clear timelines and adequate resources,” said Hannah Harborow.

We wrote to Pacific Island leaders ahead of the forum meeting, urging them to, in collaboration with development partners, commit to ending violence against women.

We also welcome the forum leaders’ agreement to control small arms, the prevalence of which disproportionately affects women and girls. Women are rarely the buyers, owners or users of arms, but they bear the brunt of gun-related sexual violence, intimidation and fear. When gun violence threatens communities it is frequently women who are displaced and women who are left to care for families. Gun-related violence negatively impacts the social, economic and political stability of the Pacific region.

We look forward to ongoing collaboration with regional intergovernmental and civil society organisations to address human rights issues facing the region.