A Vanuatu human rights activist and one of the recipients of this year's International Women of Courage awards says government instability is a factor in the number of brutal assaults against women and children in her country.
Jenny Ligo was presented with the United States State Department award in Port Vila by the US ambassador to Papua New Guinea two nights ago.
The chairwoman of Women Against Crime says since the inception of her organisation in 2008 it's made progress in raising awareness of the need for better crime prevention policies.
But she says it's impossible to develop them when the government keeps changing.
"A lot of money is spent on the changes so that makes it a bit hard for the leaders and authorities to concentrate on the polices for the country and there is focus more on the changes that they do in parliament so this is one of the areas that is a big concern to us."
Women Against Crime's Jenny Ligo in Vanuatu
