9 Dec 2004

Samoa domestic violence prompts action

4:21 pm on 9 December 2004

A children's rights advocate in Samoa, Afamasaga Toleafoa Fa'amatala, says increased incidences of domestic violence have prompted urgent action to curb it.

Afamasaga, who is the national advocate for the AusAID-funded Pacific Children's project, says one project focuses on child protection and child raising in the Pacific.

He says the Samoan government has teamed up with police and non-government groups to do a community awareness roadshow, which was launched last week.

Afamasaga says the aim is to find out why domestic violence is on the rise.

"To be able to look at these specific cases and try and isolate some of the reasons referred to. Certainly there is much more reporting to the court of some of the things that have maybe been there all along, but have been, you know, not talked about."

Afamasaga says the roadshow will target villages, churches and schools in rural areas, in a bid to create awareness about the issue.