Academics Play Important Role in Ending Violence
Fiji National University (FNU), academic Zakia AliChand believes everyone should actively participate in consultations and discussions regarding violence against women and girls.
Ms Ali-Chand, acting associate dean research at FNU’s College of Humanities and Education (CHE), represented the university at the launch of the Fiji National Action Plan to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls last week.
“In this phase of the national plan, consultations will be held in the settings of education, health and social services, legal, justice and corrections, faith-based, the informal sector, and with adolescents/youths,” she said.
“This is an important plan and FNU has an important role to play by virtue of being the national university of Fiji. As academic women, we need to have consultations and discussions on gender-based violence (GBV) and abuse at academic institutions.
“The lives of women and girls are still shaped by the cultural forces of society, where men show power and control.”
Ms Ali-Chand highlighted that the three approaches to eliminating violence against women and girls, as outlined in the national plan, were through primary, secondary and tertiary prevention.
“Primary prevention refers to actions designed to reduce or stop violence before it starts, secondary prevention refers to response services that aim to stop repeat experiences of violence after it has already happened and tertiary prevention refers to the longer-term response after violence has occurred, eg. Preventing long-term disability related to violence against women and girls,” she said.
She added that academics could contribute to ending GBV by being aware and vigilant of the issue and be able to provide support to students and other staff.