The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre has brought together 42 participants from across the Pacific for its 46th Regional Training Programme on Violence Against Women and Girls, Human Rights and Development.

The four-week programme brings participants from Fiji, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Palau, Naoero, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Samoa and Cook Islands.

They represent 22 organisations, including women’s crisis centres, government departments, non-governmental organisations and other frontline service providers working to protect women’s human rights and address violence against women and girls.

Since it began in 1995, the Regional Training Programme has grown into a major Pacific capacity-building initiative focused on violence against women and girls, gender and women’s human rights.

FWCC Coordinator Shamima Ali says the programme has expanded significantly since its first edition, which had five participants from Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.

She says the programme now attracts an average of 40 participants each year, with growing interest from individuals and organisations across the region.

Ali says the range of participants has also helped FWCC continue developing the programme to respond to changing challenges linked to gender inequality and violence against women, girls and children.

The training covers the causes and impacts of violence against women and girls, feminist analysis, human rights frameworks, counselling and support services, advocacy, campaigning, legal and policy responses, as well as institutional and community-based approaches.

Participants will also examine technology-facilitated violence against women and girls and the links between climate change and violence.

The programme provides an opportunity for participants to exchange experiences and best practices while strengthening regional cooperation and solidarity.

More than 2,000 women and men from Fiji and other Pacific countries have completed the programme since its establishment.

Many graduates have gone on to strengthen services, contribute to policy development, advocate for legal reform and support national and regional efforts to advance women’s human rights.

FWCC says it remains focused on helping organisations and institutions across the Pacific develop effective, survivor-centred responses and support wider efforts to eliminate violence against women and girls.