Outcome TON_D_3.1

Women and men in target communities demonstrate support to survivors of violence and practice balanced power in their relationships.

The context of implementing a comprehensive, whole-of-population approach to prevent and respond to VAWG in Tonga was significantly different in 2022, due to the unprecedented challenges of the complex emergency of Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai (HTHH) volcanic eruption and tsunami, (January 2022), the significant disruption to Tonga’s telecommunication infrastructure and the first cases of COVID-19 community transmission, lockdown and movement restrictions (February 2023). Partners were all supported to re-programme their activities and allocate funding and attention to the immediate needs of the almost nation-wide response to the complex emergency. UN Women contributed by resourcing the delivery of high-quality services and standards with the national women’s machinery and key civil society organisations, especially those in rural and maritime areas, through the Tonga Women and Children Crisis Centre (WCCC), the Family Protection Legal Aid Centre (FPLAC) and robust primary prevention interventions at community, society and policy levels through WCCC and the Talitha Project. WCCC’s radio public messages showcasing women’s resilience and ability to recover and rebuild after a disaster imparted important information that women are not merely passive beneficiaries, but rather can equally be active participants and leaders in response efforts. The WCCC media series Fefine To’a (Women of Strength) which highlights the resilience and leadership of Tongan women, pivoted following the HTHH emergency to spotlight women’s experiences of the disaster, and women’s important role in rebuilding their communities. Women-led response efforts such as those by women rugby players under the Talitha Project’s Frontrow against Violence (FRAV) provided solutions to people’s real needs immediately after the HTHH disaster. It is an example of how a capacity-building opportunity for one topic (sports as a tool to address GBV) can inspire action in another sector (disaster response), and the value of cross-pollination of ideas and bringing women together to learn new ideas and share with each other. In addition, WCCC’s Ke Tau Malu (Stay Safe) programme addressed the psychosocial needs of children post-disaster. Parents and other adults in communities were also reached in community awareness sessions on topics such as child abuse and neglect in order to transform harmful community attitudes, beliefs and behaviour.

Women and men in target communities demonstrate support to survivors of violence and practice balanced power in their relationships.

In Tonga, women and men in target communities are beginning to demonstrate increased support to survivors of violence and practice balanced power in their relationships. Women and men, girls and boys from Tongan communities on the main island and in outer islands are becoming more aware of VAWG , its root causes and how gender norms can be broken and where women and children can go to for services. In mid-2021, WCCC conducted a spot check on the impact of the radio program by surveying 500 women. A 95% positivity response rate from participants showed that the programme is effective in changing attitudes and behaviours towards women and girlsThe Fanguna Counselling Talatalanoa Radio Program is one of the Tonga Women and Children’s Crisis Centre ( WCCC) ’s leading prevention programmes. In 2021 it continued to reach over 10,000 listeners per week across the Tonga islands, providing counselling services and information on a wide range of intimate partner and family relationship issues. A total of 96 radio programs were broadcasted over three national radio stations (87. 5FM , Tonga Radio and Kele’a Radio). Kele’a Radio also began Facebook live programming in July 2021 for Fanguna to more easily provide the information to listeners, especially those in the outer islands who have challenges accessing radio. In mid-2021, WCCC conducted a spot check on the impact of the radio program by surveying 500 women. To comprehensively engage with Tonga’s communities living in the outer islands, WCCC employs an uloa approach that combines and layers all of its key primary and secondary prevention activities into a robust in-person, long-term intervention with communities on the outer islands.