FWCC Completes Male Advocacy for Women’s Human Rights Training for 62 Men in Beqa
21 Sep, 2026
The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) has completed comprehensive Male Advocacy for Women’s Human Rights training for 62 men in Beqa following week-long training sessions in Tikina Sawau in Dakuibeqa Village and Tikina Raviravi in Nawaisomo.
40 men completed the training in Tikina Sawau, while 22 men completed the training in Tikina Raviravi. The sessions were facilitated by Lavenia Tuitabu, Ilisapeci Maria, Seini Evo and Unaisi Ledua.
Women in these two districts underwent week-long sessions on Gender, Violence Against Women and Girls, Human Rights and relevant laws in November last year. Awareness sessions are held first with women in these areas before the men, as it is these women who play a key role in holding the men accountable. FWCC community educators document the concerns and experiences shared by women during these sessions and weave them into the training conducted with men, ensuring that women’s voices and perspectives remain central to the process.
FWCC Coordinator Shamima Ali said the Male Advocacy for Women’s Human Rights training promotes introspection and encourages men to reflect on issues of gender equality and women’s human rights in all areas of their lives, including at home, in the community, in traditional settings and at work.
“This work involves engaging men in efforts to eliminate violence against women through a rights-based approach. A key element is for these men to first change their own behaviour and thinking towards women and girls before they can influence other men,” said Ali.
The FWCC led the development of the Male Advocacy for Women’s Human Rights programme with leaders of the Pacific Women’s Network Against Violence Against Women. The programme has been used in Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands.
In 2011, the Male Advocacy for Women’s Human Rights Handbook was launched. A home-grown Pacific initiative, this handbook is one of the first of its kind in the world.
The programme was officially launched in 2002 and has been refined over the years, drawing on best practices from around the world and adapting them to the Pacific context.
In 2020, the Pacific Women’s Network Against Violence Against Women and the UN Women Fiji Multi-Country Office launched the Warwick Principles: Best Practices for Engaging Men and Boys in Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls. These principles outline seven key approaches developed by and for Pacific communities and are grounded in the experiences of women and girls:
- Be accountable to the women’s movement in the Pacific.
- Do no harm.
- Be grounded in a human rights-based approach.
- Be evidence-based and evidence-building.
- Be inclusive and intersectional.
- Be gender transformative.
- Be informed by context.
These principles are the culmination of a series of regional consultations and meetings held between 2016 and 2019.
The Male Advocacy for Women’s Human Rights programme is regarded as a major prevention strategy for eliminating violence against women and girls.
FWCC is grateful to the Rewa Provincial Office and Rewa Development Committee for its progressive development agenda. This request, like many others received over the past two years, came directly from the Provincial Office, demonstrating its commitment to advancing gender equality and women’s human rights.
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For more information email: fwcc.shamima@gmail.com