Transcript
PATRICIA SCOTLAND: Challenging domestic violence, looking together at the strategies that work and indeed the strategies that don't and sharing that information will be a really important start for this initiative. We're also looking at how we can map the economic cost of domestic violence in all of our countries. We know that in the United Kingdom when it was mapped back in 2003, 2004, they found that domestic violence cost the United Kingdom more than 23 billion pounds a year. We also know that by working together in a multi-agency, multi-disciplinary type of way that the United Kingdom was able to reduce domestic violence by 64 percent and reduce the cost of domestic violence by 7.1 billion pounds a year. Now, if that can be done in one country, because unfortunately domestic violence is no respecter of people, or regions or religions or even gender, then it's possible that we could do that in all of our countries.
SALLY ROUND: So in each individual country an investigation is going to be launched into the economic cost? Is that what you're planning? How would you go about this?
PS: In the United Kingdom we asked Lancaster University to engage with us in trying to identify the costs, so we're looking at our universities, what are they already doing? How can we collaborate? We've been looking at how we can collaborate with the World Health Organisation. We spoke to the World Bank and others to say how could they enhance the assessment they've been making in relation to the economic cost of domestic violence so that we have a genuine platform. So it's not just by the Commonwealth and the Commonwealth countries working on their own, it's how can we create effective partnerships with those who are already doing that work both in our countries and outside our countries and bind together so that we have the data sets which will enable us to really make the right choices to attack this terrible pernicious problem of domestic violence in a way that will make it effective, to challenge it and to change it.
SR: What other specific measures? I know you're going to be unveiling some.
PS: We're working on extending the work that we've already started on strengthening the laws. You'll remember when we were in Samoa we were looking at how to protect vulnerable women and girls and we launched our judicial bench book which defines what constitutes violence against women . That was piloted in East Africa, where the judges described it as an essential tool for delivering gender justice and we hope we are able to do exactly the same thing in terms of the other regions too. We're looking at a bench book for the Caribbean, a bench book for Asia, a bench book for the Pacific to help each of our areas in order to make that difference real and we're looking at making a practical assessment of whether any of us have cultural practices that we can change. We're working with traditional leaders and speaking to them and we're challenging discrimination and addressing some of those dangerous stereotypes which lead to inequality. So for example working in partnership with people in the African Union, for example Zambia, Malawi and Ghana, we were looking at how we could prevent and eliminate child marriage and create a series of toolkits to assist governments to adopt the multi agency approach so that we can give really practical assistance.
SR: And in the Pacific islands in particular are there any special toolkits that you have in mind for the Pacific?
PS: The first thing to say is the terrible thing about domestic violence and therefore the good thing about it is regrettably it manifests itself in a very similar way in all our countries, so the things that we are finding work in one of our countries tend to work in a number so we're looking at how we review the laws, making sure that the laws are actually as robust as they can be, sharing best practice , sharing the framework agreements and the framework legislation and updating that. We are looking at multi sector policy guides for Commonwealth health ministers at the next summit in May and we're working in collaboration with Public Health Wales looking into the causes and health impacts of domestic violence and the benefits of early intervention and all of that is just as important in the Pacific as in Africa or Asia or Europe or indeed the Caribbean and North America.
SR: The aim is to end domestic violence. Do you think that's really achievable?
PS: I think it is but it's going to take all of us . You know it's not something governments can do on their own, or local governments can do on their own or third sector charities can do on their own, or business can, we know that because we've all worked extremely hard in the past to do it in our silos on our own and it hasn't worked as well as it could do. We found in the United Kingdom when we had this multi-dimensional , multi-agency approach it works. It saves us money and it saves us lives so I think we have a real chance at doing this.
