TONGA Parliament is represented at the Regional Parliamentarians Meeting on Prevention of Violence against Women and Girls and the Meeting of Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) Male Standing Committee on Prevention of Violence against Women and Girls (PVAWG ) in Siem Reap, Cambodia from October 24-26th.
Tonga is represented at the Cambodian meeting by the Niuas Noble Representative in Parliament, Lord Fusitu’a and accompanying official, Committee Clerk, Sulia Makasini.
Information from AFPPD say the purpose of the regional meeting is to improve parliamentarians’ understanding of violence against women and girls, specifically trafficking and child marriage issues and its linkages with population and development.
It is also to stimulate actions based on the process of evidence based, mutual learning on the policy and advocacy issues of PVAWG among individual parliamentarians from different sub regions.
With increased knowledge, commitments and understandings of the different national perspectives and experiences, there is hope that parliamentarians including Tonga would increase actions taken for prevention of violence against women and girls.
The Regional Parliamentarians Meeting in Cambodia is a part of AFPPD’s gender project initiated in 2011 with the support of the Australian Government’s Australian Aid - ‘Mobilizing Parliamentarians for EVAW in Asia-Pacific Tonga included.
This project involves examining different forms of violence that are highly prevalent in specific sub-regions including Tonga.
Participants would also subsequently developing research agendas and policy advocacy strategies to support elimination of violence against women.
The Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development funded the Cambodian trip.