The second event, referenced in the introductory message, occurred on the streets of Apia in the morning. A man has now pled guilty to having approached his wife, arguing and then stabbing her multiple times before fleeing when challenged by members of the public.29 These events both indicate that IPV is becoming so common to the point that people are no longer trying to keep it hidden, away from public eyes. This is supported by the statistics on IPV from the various sources, which suggest that violence between partners is rampant across society and becoming the new norm in Samoa. 7.2.3 Prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence According to the SFSS 2017, 60% of women aged 20-49 who had ever been in a relationship had experienced some form of intimate partner violence, up from 46% in the SFHSS 2000. The Policy and Planning Division of the MoP cites 2,892 cases of domestic violence as being reported to the Police in the year 2013-2014, although the DVU has 893 cases as being reported to them across both 2013 and 2014 combined.30 The discrepancy in police data will be considered later in the Report but both figures are sufficient to demonstrate large numbers of complaints being made in relation to domestic violence. The Inquiry survey of 1,500 people as part of the consultations also sheds further light on the prevalence of violence within our families (the following statistics apply to all family relationships and not just between intimate partners): • • • • 87% of respondents had been subject to yelling and harsh words; 87% had also experienced threats to cause physical violence or bodily harm; 86% had been subject to kicking, punching, slapping, causing bodily harm using a hard object (rock, stick, tree trunk, hose, etc.); 24% had experienced choking. The statistics on prevalence of sexual violence within a relationship are just as concerning. The SFHSS 2000 reported one in five women had been forced or coerced into degrading sex in their lifetime. One in five women reported having been raped by their partner.31 When we consider the previous statistic that one in ten women have also been raped by another family member the prevalence of rape in Samoan society is simply staggering. 5% of women who reported never to have been abused also said that their first time having sex had been forced32, demonstrating that the general understanding of what constitutes rape is poor and yet further evidence that the prevalence statistics available to us are an under-representation of the real picture. 29 See Samoa Observer. “Stabbing horror in Apia.” (18 January 2018). Document 113 Inquiry anthology, accessible at www.ombudsman.gov.ws. 30 “Exploring violence against women and girls in Samoa.” Fallen Lizard Films (an analysis of data provided by MOP Policy & Planning Division and the Domestic Violence Unit). Document 117 Inquiry anthology. 31 Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development. (2017). Samoa Family Safety Study. Document 46 in Inquiry anthology, accessible at www.ombudsman.gov.ws. 32 Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development. (2017). Samoa Family Safety Study. Document 46 in Inquiry anthology, accessible at www.ombudsman.gov.ws.