of Samoa either at home or in the classroom the risk of sexual violence increases and the only practical way to address this is by lifting the silence around sex in both of those environments. Similarly, when it comes to the media there are two approaches to minimizing the risk of family violence arising from the nature of what people can see and read. The first, as described, is through fostering a national understanding of positive relationships so that the influence of negative media is negated. The second is education for the media in Samoa and standard setting which encourages the promotion of gender equality and raises awareness among broadcasters, advertisers and the like of the harmful consequences of promoting violence and stereotypical gender roles. RECOMMENDATION 16: Minimise the harmful effects of media through education and standard setting. • • • Implement Inquiry Recommendation 12 on sexual education in schools. Through village level mechanisms provide parents with education on how to talk to their children about healthy relationships. Provide training to all media bodies in Samoa on the nature, causes and impacts of family violence and the role that they can play in promoting gender equality and avoiding stereotypes or violence. 14.2 Government Plans, Coordination & Programmes INQUIRY FINDING 28: The Government’s lack of commitment and approach through inadequate allocation of resources, support and lack of coordination sends to people a message that gender inequality and family violence is acceptable. The Inquiry has already identified the need for a National Family Violence Prevention Strategy, bringing all of the commitments of the various existing sector and ministerial plans under one roof, developing an effective M & E framework and using this as the mandate for the work of the Office of Family Violence Prevention. 14.2.1 Coordination and visible support There is currently almost no Government-led coordination between the various actors. For example, if a victim of violence presents at the hospital there is either no established process of referring them to a relevant agency, or the service simply does not exist. This is also why among the few organisations that do exist, there can be duplication of activities such as the suicide prevention counselling SVSG provides when FLO is already working in that space. The creation of a Family Violence Prevention Office will be a step in the right direction, especially in being able to coordinate key actors in the field of family violence. However, there is also a case to be made for a Family Violence Crisis Centre, which has in-house counselors and can refer clients to the full range of