Transcript
SHAMIMA ALI: It is great. It is quite surprising as there were some wonderful nominees, fellow nominees, who are really really good. But when the interview was done by Steven Howards at the development policy department at the ANU, I didn't realise that there was an award in the offing . So that was a very very pleasant surprise and it comes at a good time for the crisis centre.
SARA VUI-TALITU:There is a monetary part of this award, how will it help further your work for your organisation?
SA: Well we do get our core funding from Australia and New Zealand, and we have been told to diversity funding and this goes well because we are building up separate funding from the core funding which goes towards other things not included in our design document and which funding has not been allocated to. We also have had reduced funding from Australia this time around and then New Zealand has also reduced the number of years from 5 years to 3 years and so we are still negotiating further funding from New Zealand. It comes at a good time where we are also building up our funds as a contingency plan but it will go towards the kind of work we do do both locally and regionally, and we are looking at using it for more work out in the community and targeting different sections in the community.
SV: As you said earlier, you had some tough competition. What is it about your work, do you think, that made you stand out and take out this award?
SA: I do know that the crisis centre in the work on gender based violence, the other nominees are in different areas of work and I am sure are doing just as well, but for the crisis centre and eliminating violence against women, the fact that this is pioneering work and how we have made in-roads into not only Fijian society but also throughout the Pacific. Our integrated approach, the fact that we are sort of all our programmes and strategies are based on how women experience violence. It's not top down, and it is bottom up. But also this was an award of how best development can happen through NGO's and partnership. And it is also about Australia having funded us for over the three decades, and the multi-year funding which is so essential to work like this which means we don't have to scrounge around for money every year. The multi-year long term funding, our integrated approach, the fact that we have pioneered the work and we have developed best practise models around the elimination of violence against women. I think those things most probably and the sheer hard work that the people who are involved with the centre, like the people, the staff and management, do.
SV: It seems very timely given there has been a lot of global discussion like the #metoo campaigns and things. So what is the Fiji crisis centre take on it?
SA: Well of course I think that is a great thing that has happened globally. And we know those of us who have worked in this area for decades, we know those things happen. We do know the disempowerment of women and how because of the structure of violence and discrimination that is committed on women that women are not in positions of power, and those sorts of thing happens so much. The Fiji women's rights movement in Fiji last year conducted a survey with some working women who are in paid employment and the statistics were quite high. We have taught sexual harassment and rape and so on for a very long time and raised awareness around it and you know there are various policies. The families and women's lobby have really lobbied the government for sexual harassment policies in the workplace, which is there. But also just being aware that it is not just the workplace, it's schools, it's on the street, in in our own home by our own relatives. You know that is a good campaign to really raise awareness globally but in the Pacific we have really been working on it, and this really just gives us another push.
