Safe, Resilient Communities in Vanuatu

By Ethel George, Women’s Desk Officer for the Anglican Church of Melanesia Vanuatu

In my country, Vanuatu, we have seen first-hand how widespread cultural beliefs about women and girls worsen the effects of disasters, displacements and other life-changing events. Women and girls–some of whom are already suffering from some forms of violence and abuse regularly–can face even more violence and other forms of injustices in times of crisis. 

When people face a crisis, the church is often viewed as a trusted source of encouragement, hope and spiritual reinforcement. That trust allows us to walk with communities to promote healthy relationships and safety for women and girls before, during and after disasters. 

For example, in the immediate aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Harold in 2020, the second largest tropical storm to ever affect Vanuatu, the Anglican Church of Melanesia (ACOM) Vanuatu worked through local churches to survey the impacted area and identify people whose needs weren’t already being met—widows, single mothers, children and those living with special needs. 

During this response, we offered some toiletries, but the bulk of our work was helping women and girls with counseling, prayers and reading passages from the Bible. People gave us feedback that it was the presence of church leaders and people of faith that was most comforting during a really dark time. It helped them find hope amidst the violence and other injustices they were experiencing as a result of the recent disaster.

ACOM Vanuatu has taken on an even more proactive role in promoting gender equity and addressing gender-based violence since our program started in 2019 and our first major disaster response in 2020. In partnership with Episcopal Relief & Development and Anglican Overseas Aid, we developed a resilience program called the Safe, Resilient Communities Project. It has two focus areas: transforming community beliefs and harmful attitudes towards gender-based violence and secondly, making sure protocols are in place so that women and girls are protected during emergencies.

We regularly run workshops for church leaders and people in our community to help them navigate marriage and parenting, and promote harmonious and peaceful relationships within families. Our workshops and courses take participants on a self-exploratory journey where they examine their beliefs about gender and identify. Through reflection, participants consider how some widely held cultural beliefs in Vanuatu, like being violent against one’s wife, are in contradiction with examples set by Jesus in passages like John 8: 3-11 where he condemns a woman’s violent accusers and tells them instead to look inward and show the woman compassion. In our workshops, we experience that same kind of transformation—we provide husbands and wives with a safe space to discuss their offenses, and forgive each other.

ACOM Vanuatu also offers a disaster preparedness workshop that focuses on the safety and protection of women during disasters. The workshop helps women have a voice because they often feel overlooked during crises. We help women and girls understand their rights, including where and how to report wrongdoings by government and agency workers or clergy and volunteers from churches offering services and support. Although this workshop is geared towards disasters, it is also helpful to women during non-disaster times as well.

For participants who have graduated from our trainings and who want to help others, we have opportunities for them to volunteer at a local community center in Luganville, in the Diocese of Central Vanuatu & New Caledonia. The Mothers’ Union provides us with a space in their building for our trained volunteers. At the center, our volunteers help women and couples through intimate partner violence and other forms of gender-based violence. Our volunteers listen to people, counseling them on their options–including how to involve the police if necessary. 

It’s hard to take on a society where many people have a harmful mentality about women and girls. What is more realistic, I think, is taking on what’s within our control. That’s what ACOM Vanuatu did. Participants in our Safe, Resilient Communities project—including faith leaders, husbands, wives, parents and young people—receive the tools they need to create lasting change, empowering them to take action, speak up and share. We invite others across the global church to do the same. 

Episcopal Relief & Development created a 16 Days of Activism Toolkit to help you start a conversation around gender-based violence with the people in your life. Download the toolkit.

Ethel George is the Women’s Desk Officer for the Anglican Church of Melanesia (ACOM) Vanuatu.