First, the acknowledgement that family violence is preventable and not an inevitable social problem. Second, that complex factors known to drive and reinforce family violence can be addressed through continuous strategic interventions. Thirdly, that gendered drivers consistently associated with higher levels of violence against women can be addressed through well facilitated sessions about ‘myths and facts’. Within the work plan activities of each VFSC Strategic Plan are initiatives to prevent family violence from happening in the first place, as well as awareness programs to for those who have experienced violence, to help prevent it from happening again. All 6 village work plans highlights raising awareness as a strategic objective as well as educational programs to address the complex factors of family violence issues. Once the Work plans are finalized then the Office and VFSCs will then move to implement Phase 3 and 4 of the pilot project. We hope to provide this update in the next Annual Report. Phase 1 & 2 of the Project was kindly funded by SPC-RRRT, Sisters for Change and Spotlight InitiativeUNDP. It is hoped that should this Project become successful that the MWCSD will take this on board as one of its activities given that it falls well within its community work. Engaging Youth (Ages 18-45) in the Public Sector to encourage Family Safety Education through the Promotion of Health Relationships There is a common perception that women are more likely to experience family violence if they have low education or are unemployed. However research shows that family violence does not discriminate on age, wealth, level of education, level of employment, or any factors of socio-economic background. Samoa has seen examples of family violence cases across all socio-economic sectors and backgrounds. Youth empowerment initiatives are often focused on unemployed youth in the community and currently in Samoa the majority of youth programs are being conducted in villages with a focus on unemployed youth. Yet, there is little to no empowerment programs available for employed youth, because they are usually not present when these programs are conducted in the villages. Therefore, there is a real potential to focus on youth who are employed to encourage change. The focus on youth in the public sector is to build future leaders that can knowledgeably speak with confidence about the issues of violence and its contributing factors. The intervention aimed at building capacity and networks so that future public servants are equipped to be champions of combatting violence in their own families and workplaces. The Office in collaboration with Public Service Commission (PSC), Ministry of Women Community and Social Development (MWCSD), Ministry of Justice and Court Administration (MJCA), and Samoa Family Health Association (SFHA) banded together to conduct 9 short awareness programs engaging youth ages Office of the Ombusman/NHRI Samoa Annual Report 2019/20 22