Voices Against Violence

The following article was printed in the November/December edition of the City Star Lautoka community newspaper and was written by Sanjay Goundar.

Violence against girls and women is a stark reality of our society and according to a University of Hawaii study 64% of women suffer sexual or physical violence in their lifetimes. This rippling effect worldwide has resulted in the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) and UN Women collaborating to form a co-educational program ‘Voices against Violence’ for young people to access when they come across violence. This theme was highlighted by the schools in the Vuda cluster during their Girl Guides rally at Lomolomo Public school on October 21. More than 100 students from Lomolomo Public, Gurukul Primary, Wairebetia Muslim, Shri Ram Govind Viseisei Primary, Dreketi Sangam and Saru MGM took part in the rally, which strongly advocated on this issue. The chief guest, Soroptimist International Assistant program Director Zareena Bi, commended the leaders of the Vuda cluster girl guides for campaigning against this worrying subject and spoke about the various forms of violence.
“Violence is not only physical and sexual  but there are also psychological forms of violence that need to be recognised. In Fiji the rates of emotional abuse are very high and many women suffer all three forms of violence simultaneously. The stand of our Government is of zero tolerance against violence and through the Ministry of Women a new free helpline has been set up to provide assistance in this regard.”
The chief guest added that in addition to the Government’s initiative it is vital to continue
with this awareness to benefit the victims of violence. Meanwhile, Girl Guides Vuda District Commissioner Swanam Chand advised that this time around instead of the normal activities of
Girl Guides Rally like flower arrangements and art and craft, their cluster decided to advocate on the theme of ‘Voices against Violence’ through poster displays and drama. She added that the students were given the theme and they designed very innovative  posters, which were displayed at the rally, as well as very thought provoking drama performances.

Students, teachers and guests take part in the Vuda District Girl Guides Rally March.
Photo: Sanjay Goundar.