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.
RECOMMENDATION
ACTION OUTCOME
IMPLEMENTATION/
RESPONSIBLE AGENCY
RECOMMENDATION 29: Amend
the Village Fono Act 1990 to
specifically list Family Violence as
an area of concern for the Village
Fono.
Consult relevant stakeholders in amending the
Village Fono Act 1990 to specifically list family
violence as an area of concern.
RECOMMENDATION 30: Empower
the Village Fono and Village Family
Safety Committee to play a role in
bringing perpetrators of family
violence to formal justice.
RECOMMENDATION 31: Empower
the Village Fono / Village Family
Safety Committee to play a direct
role in the protection of individual
cases of family violence through
provision of shelter for victims and
TIMEFRAME
MWCSD in
consultations with
Village Representatives
and
Village Fono
Immediate
attention
Abolish the requirement to report family
violence to the Village Fono before the police in
villages where this is the case.
Introduce by-laws to encourage reporting of
family violence to the Village Fono.
Introduce mandatory reporting to the Police by
the Fono and/or Village Family Safety
Committee.
Empower the Village Family safety Committee
to monitor protection orders and parole in
relation to family violence.
Village Fono
Urgent
attention
Allocation of designated shelters for victims of
family violence by the Village Family Safety
Committee
Introduce by-laws outlining punishments for
family violence matters based on suspended
fines and/or community based punishments.
Village Fono in
collaboration with
Village Family
Committee when
established
Immediate
attention