INQUIRY FINDING 38: Family violence is not explicitly listed in the Village Fono Act 1990 as an area of concern for the Village Fono. INQUIRY FINDING 39: The Village Fono is not protecting victims of family violence and in some cases preventing access to justice and increasing the environment in which family violence thrives through ill-advised punishments and blocking the reporting of matters to the police. 9.2.6 Church In comparison to Government, the justice sector and the Village Fono, churches play less of a role in the protection of family violence with their role focusing more on the prevention aspect. However, there are times when victims go to their faifeau for support and guidance. Therefore it is necessary to assess how effective the current approach to protection is and, in Part V, how this may be improved. Nearly one in ten female respondents in the SFHSS 2000 felt that a faifeau should be the ideal person to turn to if they were experiencing abuse.114 However, only 1.2% of women that had ever been subjected to violence chose to disclose their abuse to a church minister. This indicates a lack of trust in the church as a protection mechanism. It may also be as a result of the presence of perpetrators within the church itself, or preaching which emphasizes the subservience and obedience of women towards their partners. The latter of these two possible reasons also informs the common response of many within the church when approached by victims of family violence for assistance. Faifeaus are inclined to counsel the victim in a manner which emphasizes traditional roles and a gender hierarchy, and encourage them to return to their abusive partner and protect the sanctity of marriage. “Conservative (religious) thinking may justify the use of physical dominance to maintain control of a wife who is perceived to be out of line or seen as subordinate. A woman who is abused within this construct may be advised by church leadership to be more submissive and to self-reflect as to how her actions have resulted in a beating. This is why previous research has found that counseling by pastoral leaders can have the lowest success rate out of all the different possible support groups.” Ramona Boodoosingh, PHD on Violence Against Women in Samoa, Inquiry document 82 INQUIRY FINDING 40: The Churches in Samoa are generally not offering protection to victims of family violence and often counsel them into returning to abusive relationships, placing them at risk of further harm. 114 SPC and UNFPA. (2006). Samoa Family Health and Safety Study 2000. Document 83 in Inquiry anthology, accessible at www.ombudsman.gov.ws.