15.2.1 Police INQUIRY FINDING 35: Police are not adequately trained to properly deal with cases of domestic violence. There is no evidence to suggest that lessons were being learned from trainings to deal with victims of violence across the police force, and that harmful attitudes and practices were still dominant preventing reporting of family violence. The provision of counseling, shelter and other services for victims of family violence will go a long way in helping the police be able to effectively protect those who come into their care. However, existing attitudes within the police remain harmful and would render those improvements less valuable, or even obsolete, unless effectively addressed. This urgent need was brought home by a case the Inquiry heard that happened a week before the public hearings here in Samoa where a woman was raped by a man she met in a bar. When she went to report the matter to the police she was treated in a dismissive and hostile manner and told by one officer that she was lying. “Many times throughout that night, I just wanted to give up and go home. Police treatment added to my feelings of shame, guilt and self-blame. It was so hard to keep going to report this rapist. I thought about just walking out, going home and never even telling my family what happened and just keeping it a secret.” Anonymous rape survivor, Inquiry private hearings In a nutshell this demonstrates how the attitudes of the police maintain the veil of silence around family violence, granting perpetrators impunity and allowing it to flourish. The current approach by the police is undermining the Fa’asamoa and contributing to the violation of individual rights under the Samoan constitution and its human rights obligations. This urgently needs addressing and can be achieved through; (1) Stronger leadership in addressing family violence; (2) Family safety training for all officers; (3) Increased community policing. It is imperative that police officers have stronger leadership in the area of family violence and are led by example. The current situation appears to be implicit endorsement of archaic attitudes which blame victims and lead to the continuation and increase of family violence. There needs to be wider understanding of family violence within the police and zero tolerance. Furthermore, the Inquiry found that the initiatives to address family violence are often not universally rolled out and not monitored for effectiveness. Given the widespread nature of harmful societal attitudes towards family violence it is inevitable that these would also be prevalent within the police force. Regular training is required to educate officers on the consequences of these attitudes and how they lead to family violence, as documented earlier in the Report. Furthermore, mandatory training to examine gender roles in relation to family violence, the nature and causes of violence in Samoa and how to deal with victims and perpetrators should be carried out. The importance of this training and awareness is such that it should be monitored and provided to officers on a regular basis.