She is Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs.

Sigimanu was speaking at the opening of World Vision's three day Channels of Hope for Gender, Church Partnership Conference in Honiara.

Around 50 people from Honiara and the provinces representing churches, government ministries, non-government organisations, communities and stakeholders attended the Conference.

In the solomon Islands:

• 38% of women report their first sexual experience as having been forced
• 63% of men believe it is acceptable to hit women in certain circumstances
• 2 out of 3 women have experienced violence from an intimate partner
• The program has been implemented in over 59 countries.It aims to strengthen partnership between churches, partners and stakeholders in an effort to curb family violence.

World Vision's Channels of Hope program brings together and engages faith leaders around biblical texts that affirm the equality of women and men, the need to treat each other with respect, and to act to eliminate gender violence.

The program then equips them and members of their congregations to be activists for gender equality and against gender violence. In so doing, these faith leaders are becoming powerful agents of positive change in their communities.

The program also works with existing support services by providing links for survivors of violence, building capacity to address issues of substance abuse and conflict, and supports church and community leaders to refer survivors to services.

With over 90% of Solomon Islanders identifying as Christian, faith-based responses have been identified as particularly well-placed to tackle negative gender attitudes.

In this context, faith leaders are among the most influential members of the community.

As such they can have a significant effect on social attitudes.

Source

• solomontodaypost.wordpress.com
• worldvision.com.au
• Image: screen shot worldvision.com.au

World Vision and the local Anglican Church, the Church of Melanesia, are working to get to grips with the issue of domestic violence in the Solomon Islands.

Koisau Sade is a Gender Advisor working with World Vision in the Solomons. She said that two thirds of females "have experienced physical violence or sexual violence or both at some stage in their lifetime from an intimate partner".

World Vision is supporting the only women's shelter in the Solomons. It is run by Sister Doreen from the Church of Melanesia.

Sister Doreen says that some of the women at the shelter have suffered from sexual abuse from when they were as young as 8. "So you can imagine the trauma they have been through. But coming here they have slowly come back to normal because we were able to listen to them. And this is a safe place away from violence", she says.

With the support of World Vision the Church of Melanesia is making use of the New Testament to fight against violence in the home in a country where 95% of the population is Christian. The program being run is called Channels of Hope.

Tim Costello is the head of World Vision Australia. He was recently at a workshop in Honiara with the Church of Melanesia's Archbishop David Vanag, leader of the Church of Melanesia, and eight of his bishops.

Costello said that "up to 65 per cent of women reporting violence from intimate personal relationships ... is a major issue. And it's a major issue of addressing the culture that says, you know, "The boss man can discipline his wife even by beating her". "

Archbishop Vanagi said that "in our mission we try to look after the victims of domestic violence. That's why we have this Christian Care Centre".

He went on to say that in country areas women and children who are victims of domestic violence tend to suffer in silence. "They feel that if they come out with what they experience, then probably they'll be intimidated. So the church here in Solomon Islands, we have a structure from here in Honiara down to the villages. So we must use that structure to get this message down to the people", he said. Read more

Sources

• ABC Australia
• Image: The Anglican Church of Melanesia