Youth drive action to prevent violence against women and girls in Timor-Leste
Spotlight Initiative: Youth drive action to prevent violence against women and girls in Timor-Leste.
Violence against women and girls is a pervasive issue in Timor-Leste. According to the Timor-Leste Demographic and Health Survey (2016) , women aged 15 to 19 reported that they had suffered sexual violence from their intimate partners in the last 12 months. A dedicated prevalence survey by the Asia Foundation in 2016 found that 59% of Timorese women (15-49 years) reported having experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime .
A group of ‘Youth Changemakers’, with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the European Union (EU), are leading the change by engaging with communities in three municipalities to address this issue and promote behavior change to prevent violence in families and communities. It falls under the Spotlight Initiative, a multi-year global program between the European Union and United Nations that seeks to end violence against women and girls.
It saddened me that children at young ages already experience violence at home. Here, violence is a normal thing”, says Felisberta Pereira, a 27-year-old resident of Bobonaro municipality who is a Youth Changemaker supporting the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative in Timor-Leste. “I experienced violence while I was growing up. But I am now determined to change the situation and make sure no child, girl or woman faces the violence I witnessed growing up.
Felisberta is one of the 24 Youth Changemakers driving discussions on violence prevention in communities dotted across Bobonaro, Ermera and Viqueque municipalities and conducting screenings of short films around that issue. Youth Changemakers have been trained by UNICEF, the Ministry of Social Solidarity and Inclusion (MSSI), and the NGO Ba Futuru (for the Future) on how to organize film screenings, engage with communities, facilitate discussions with groups of people, and help them identify and drive actions that will prevent violence against children, women and girls in their communities. The Youth Changemakers are paired with MSSI’s Child Protection or Gender Officers based in each municipality, who provide additional guidance on violence prevention or support for survivors of violence identified during these consultations.
To date, 3,840 community members have been directly engaged by these Youth Changemakers in 190 locations in the three municipalities.
The short films being played at the community engagement sessions were developed by UNICEF and Ba Futuru, in consultation with the European Union, Civil Society Reference Group and UN Agencies engaged in the Spotlight Initiative. The short films focus on the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative priorities for Timor-Leste: prevention of violence against intimate partners, children, girls and women.
The short films were also broadcasted on national television, reaching thousands of people across the country.
Elloy Rodrigues, 27 years old native of Railaco in Ermera municipality, refers to his own experience with violence during his childhood as the main motivation on why he wanted to get involved in the activity. “There was no sense of tranquility in our community. We didnt feel secure being at home, and [therefore] we need to sensitize our parents and youth on the importance of violence prevention.”
Wide acceptance of violence as a “norm” in their lives—by both men and women - contributes to perpetuate violence in their homes. According to a study in 2016 it was found that more than 94 per cent of women in Ermera believe that husbands are justified in hitting their wives.
A discussion manual developed jointly between UNICEF, MSSI and Ba Futuru provides essential guidance for the youth changemakers in facilitating discussions and spurring behavior change.
“I can see the change. Some teachers and parents could see that they should not employ violence and that there are more positive ways they could use to educate their children,” says Felisberta.
Elroy also sees improved knowledge amongs community members.
“[Thanks to these discussions] I feel like there is understanding from community members that if they see violence occuring in their midst, they know what they need to do, or who they need to talk to [to stop violene].”
A feedback session with Youth Changemakers showed that there was a need to continue these community engagement efforts to drive permanent change. Albertina Pereira, 29 years old from Maliana in Bobonaro Municipality and who lives with a form of physical disability, said that talking about violence in the communities, while proving to be challenging, is an important first step. “I think we rarely talk about violence (before these discussions took place) that happens in our own community, even though the evidence has shown that it is really high”, she says. “It is even rarer to talk about violence that affects persons with disabilities. We need to continue talking about violence, so we can find solutions together.”
The Youth Changemakers are also seeing positive changes in their own lives.
Rayan Pinto, a 29-year-old, who identifies himself as part of the LGBTIQ+ community and a participant at one of the community engagement sessions, said these discussions have helped raise awareness and changed attitudes amongst his friends.
I noticed that after we had the discussion [after the film screening], my friends slowly change their minds, don’t call me names, and stand with me. They have told me that I have to be stronger to stay where I am because my life is my world, and no one can change it, no one can decide what I can do.
Albertina also feels more empowered as a leader and member of the community.“It felt great being in front of the community members and facilitating discussions on how we can prevent violence. I felt like they could see that while I do lack some physical ability, I can still contribute something to the community to tackle this crucial issue".
Under this initiative, UNICEF has also been working with the National Parliament to ensure that the current Draft of ”Law of Protection of Children and Youth in Danger”, can safeguard children rights and their wellbeing. Additionally UNICEF has also collaborated with the Government of Timor-Leste and various civil society organizations in providing mental health and psychosocial support and parenting programmes at 16 Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) in the Municipality of Dili to ensure that children, boys and girls who were affected by the Flood Disaster in April 2021, received the support they need to cope with trauma and have much safer homes, schools and communities to thrive in.
A global, multi-year partnership between European Union and United Nations, the Spotlight Initiative is aimed at eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls by 2030. It is the world’s largest targeted effort to end all forms of violence against women and girls. In Timor-Leste, UNICEF is collaborating with other UN Agencies such as UN Women, UNDP, UNFPA and ILO to achieve the objective of Spotlight Initiative.
