7th March 2014
Advocating to eliminate Violence Against Women in Solomon Islands
In 2012, Solomon Islands was ranked by the World Bank as one of the worst countries in the world for sexual violence.
Australian Volunteer Jenny Chainey is working with local counterparts at the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs to change this statistic, by coordinating awareness campaigns and helping to set up services for victims.
“I really like it, I love working at the Ministry, it’s got great staff and my counterpart is awesome. Its challenging but its good and I am learning a lot.”
Jenny arrived 5 months ago and plans to spend two years working with the Ministry.
“Through my job at the Ministry, I hope to improve stakeholder engagement and assist in implementing donor funded projects. I also hope to have made a difference to victims of gender based violence and also people who work as service providers in the sector of violence against women and gender based violence.”
Jenny is enjoying the Solomons seaside and has travelled to Malaita, Savo and the Western Province.
Every year, more than 60 Australian volunteers support Solomon Islands organisations, sharing their skills and expertise and promoting links and friendships between Solomon Islands and Australia.