The workshop was facilitated by the project co-ordinator Mrs Judith Siota.

Forty male clergy, catechists, Parish chairs, chiefs, youth workers, a police officer and a nurse attended the workshop.

The major objectives of the program were to: involve men in community awareness activities regarding violence against women and children; to consider men’s point of view in order to make half of the population responsible for a process of culturally sensitive change and oriented towards a zero tolerance of violence against women and children; to raise awareness of the laws in place that address violence against women; and to raise awareness on international Conventions and Policies of Solomon Islands and the Anglican Church of Melanesia.

Plenary and interactive discussions and group presentations were among other activities that were carried out during each session.

The workshop was an eye-opener for many participants who did not know what policies there were and what penalties perpetrators could face. The group also learned more about how parents, especially father, should behave and treat children and the mother at home.

The ongoing programme of workshops will come to an end after the final workshop that is scheduled to be held earlier next month in Rennel and Bellona. These have been funded by the European Union under the banner: “Man wea waka for man stopem violens”.

The program was initiated as the Church and the European Union began to realise the need to teach men who would then help other men address violence in the country.