Whilst it will ultimately be up to Village Fonos, matais of families and family members themselves to decide how best to develop communications to prevent family violence, the Inquiry encourages an emphasis on creating space to report incidents of family violence and establishing regular communications within families to prevent the build-up of frustrations. The latter of those suggestions is already enshrined in the Fa’asamoa, just not currently widely practiced or used and that is the talanoaga (family meetings). For those families who do regularly schedule talanoaga, it can be monthly or more regularly and include either immediate or extended family. However, family violence is never a topic for discussion and as a result the feeling, emotions, frustrations that the Inquiry has seen leads to family violence and being subjected to violence remains unaddressed. The talanoaga is the perfect forum for allowing each member of the family to raise their ongoing concerns and to be addressed by the matai in consultation with the family. The Inquiry heard from many people that both the talanoaga and evening prayers are the perfect forums for encouraging such family discussions yet are currently being under-utilised. Both are also forums at which the matai of the family can lead in rejecting all forms of violence and encouraging those who witness it to speak out. Both the Fa’asamoa and Faith will be strengthened with the revival and utility of such gatherings, whilst at the same time playing a significant role in the prevention of family violence. In addition to providing a communication space that contributes to the prevention of family violence, equally important is a similar approach to the protection of victims. Social taboo sometimes renders it impossible for victims to report matters of family violence, especially sexual violence, because of the Fa’asamoa and the belief that it brings shame upon the family. However, with the acknowledgement that silence around family violence actually brings greater shame to the wider society, exceptions need to be created to encourage victims to speak out when a violation has occurred. This can only happen through the strong leadership of matais and a clear understanding of what constitutes family violence and when a victim should speak out. A final pre-requisite for being able to speak out, which is currently not in place and further prevents the reporting of sexual violence and violence generally, is the language necessary to be able to do so. In many cases, the language itself actually reinforces the hierarchy upon which family violence is premised. “Samoan language is totally inadequate and cannot capture the full meaning of violence.” Tagaloatele Professor Peggy Dunlop, Inquiry Commissioner Throughout the Inquiry it was clear that for victims of violence, especially sexual violence, one of the fundamental barriers to reporting was simply not having the words to describe what happened to them, and therefore not even being able to explain it to themselves, let alone articulate it to another person. There is a clear need for the development of new vocabulary within the Samoan language to bridge this gap and the process must be an inclusive one, involving victims and perpetrators, children, persons with disabilities, the elderly, fa’afafine and all demographics of Samoan society. It is also an opportunity to