Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697734111902.pdf (Fiji)
STANDING COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC ACCOUNTS Review of the Performance Audit Report on the Coordination of Actions on Elimination of Violence Against Women PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF FIJI Parliamentary Paper No.
32 of 2020 May, 2020 Published and printed by the Department of Legislature, Parliament House, Government Buildings, Suva TABLE OF CONTENT ACRONYMS ...................................................................................................................................... 4 CHAIRPERSON‟S FOREWORD ......................................................................................................... 5 COMMITTEE MEMBERS ................................................................................................................... 7 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 8 COMMITTEE PROCEDURE ........................................................................................................... 8 RESOURCE PERSONS ................................................................................................................. 9 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................................... 10 COMMITTEE FINDINGS – PERFORMANCE AUDIT REPORT ON THE COORDINATION OF ACTIONS ON ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ................................................................ 12 - 15 GENDER ANALYSIS........................................................................................................................ 16 RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................................... 20 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................. 21 APPENDIX 1 ................................................................................................................................... 24 3 ACRONYMS Convention on Elimination of Violence Against Women Central Intelligence Division Headquarters (Fiji Police Force) Civil Society Organisation Domestic Violence Act Elimination of Violence against Women Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls Elimination on all forms of Discrimination of Violence Against Women and Girls Department of Women Financial Management Information System Fiji Women‟s Crisis Centre iTaukei Affairs Board Memorandum of Agreement Monitoring and Evaluation Ministry of iTaukei Affairs Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation Non-Government Organisation National Plan of Action Rights, Empowerment, Awareness, Cohesion Program Sustainable Development Goals Gender Equality Service Delivery Protocol Terms of Reference United Nations World Health Organisation Women‟s Plan of Action Zero Tolerance Violence Free Community CEDAW CID HQ CSO DVA EVAW EVAWG EDVAWG DoW FMIS FWCC iTAB MoA M&E MTA MWCPA NGO NPA REACH SDG SDG 5 SDP TOR UN WHO WPA ZTVFC 4 CHAIRPERSON’S FOREWORD I am pleased to present this Public Accounts Committee report on the review made on the performance audit report on the Coordination of Actions on Elimination of Violence Against Women.
The audit assesses whether the implementation of the Women‟s Plan of Action (WPA) in particular its thematic area on the elimination of violence against women is effective and realising the commitment from key stakeholders in upholding the relevant existing legislation and policies that impacts the issues surrounding violence against women and children.
The 2013 Constitution of the Republic of Fiji recognises through section 26 “Rights to Equality and Freedom of Discrimination” which signifies government‟s commitments to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on “Gender Equality”.

Gender equality and women‟s development is one of the priority outcomes of the state.
This has been imbedded from the previous National Plans namely the Roadmap for Democracy and Sustainable Socio- Economic Development 2010-2014 and now the 5 year and 20 year National Development Plan.

It is important to note that the Fijian Government has made a number of international and regional commitments for gender equality through the:– 1.

Convention of Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); 2.

Beijing Platform for Action 1995; 3.

Sustainable Development Goals; and 4.


Revised Pacific Platform of Action.

Violence against women and children is a pandemic that is globally recognised as a political, social and health problem and this is a grave violation of human rights.

In Fiji, 64% of Fijian Women who have been in an intimate partner relationship experienced either physical or sexual violence or both by their husband or intimate partner in their lifetime.

This is almost double the global average.


The most alarming reality is that although women and girls make up the majority of victims for sexual offences, there were processes that were not in accordance with the relevant guidance materials pertaining to the reduction of crime against women and children in Fiji.
This includes the administration of the National Domestic Violence Helpline, Zero Tolerance Violence Free Community (ZTVFC) and the integration of key stakeholders working collaboratively such as the Fiji Police Force and the Fiji Women‟s Crisis Centre.
The committee notes the initiative from the Executive on the various policies developed such as the Fiji Police Force No Drop Policy, the National Gender Policy and Fiji‟s progress report on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action which has been fairly implemented.
However, there are further opportunities for improvements to allow for consistency in the review, the coordination process and identifying clear performance indicators that will administer and implement the underlying frameworks more collaboratively and effectively.

The audit examines 3 key areas and their findings have been clearly reflected below:– 1.

Framework regulating the activities on the Elimination of Violence against Women (EVAW); 2.

Implementing and monitoring of activities on EVAW; and 3.
Performance review and reporting of activities on the EVAW At the outset, I wish to extend my appreciation to all Honourable Members of the Committee who were part of the successful compilation of this bipartisan report namely, Hon.

Joseph Nand, Hon.

Vijendra Prakash, Hon.

Aseri Radrodro and Hon.

Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu.

I also extend my sincere gratitude to the alternate members who stood in during the committee hearing and deliberation process and this includes 5 Hon.

Ro Teimumu Kepa and Hon.


Mikaele Leawere.

I also acknowledge the support rendered by the Secretariat in the scrutiny process of the audit report and guidance until the finalisation of this committee report.

With those few words, I now commend this report to Parliament.

……………………….

Hon.

Alvick Maharaj Chairperson 6 COMMITTEE MEMBERS The substantive members of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts are as follow: Hon.

Alvick Avikirit Maharaj (Chairperson) Hon.


Joseph Nitya Nand (Deputy Chairperson) Hon.

Aseri Masivou Radrodro (Opposition Member) Hon.

Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu (Opposition Member) Hon.

Vijendra Prakash (Government Member) 7 INTRODUCTION The Performance Audit Report on the Coordination of Actions on Elimination of Violence against Women was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday 4 September 2019 and was subsequently referred to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts for its scrutiny.
Standing Order 109 (2) (d) mandates the Committee to “…– including examining the accounts of the Government of the Republic of Fiji in respect of each financial year and reports of the Auditor-General, and for any other matter relating to the expenditures of the Government of the Republic of Fiji or any related body or activity (whether directly or indirectly) that the committee sees fit to review.
The committee must only examine how public money has been dealt with and accounted for in accordance with the written law and must not examine the merits of the underlying policy that informs public spending”.

This inquiry looks into the Report of the Auditor General on the Performance Audit on Coordination of Actions for Elimination of Violence Against Women, Parliamentary Paper 129 of 2019.
Copies of the relevant Auditor-General‟s reports are available for perusal on the Parliament website www.parliament.gov.fj under “Parliament Business”.

COMMITTEE PROCEDURE The Committee reviewed the audit report and conducted a public hearing joint consultation by the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Fiji Police Force and the Fiji Women‟s Crisis Centre.
The audit report inquired into the various frameworks, legislation and procedures that addresses gender-based violence, the process and policy by which the framework has been implemented and the monitoring and reporting arrangements over the implementation of the framework and whether areas for improvements that has been identified by the audit has been addressed.
The consultations were held in Parliamentary Committee room and it was open to the public, media and was also broadcasted live on Television also through the official Parliament Facebook page.

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts comprises of the following Members of Parliament: Committee Members 1) Hon.

Alvick Maharaj, Chairperson 2) Hon.

Joseph Nand (Member) 3) Hon.

Vijendra Prakash (Member) 4) Hon.

Aseri Radrodro MP (Member) 5) Hon.


Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu (Member) During the Standing Committee‟s meetings, the following alternate membership arose pursuant to Standing Order 115 (5): 1) Hon.

Mikaele Leawere 2) Hon.
Ro Teimumu Kepa 8 RESOURCE PERSONS The Committee together met with the following witnesses who were present during the public hearing on Wednesday 5 February 2020 are as follows:– OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL: 1) Mr Kuruwara Tunisalevu, Director Auditor 2) Ms Maritin Cirikisuva, Auditor 3) Mr Sitiveni Naivata, Auditor MINISTRY OF WOMEN, CHILDREN & POVERTY ALLEVIATION 1) Ms Jennifer Poole, Permanent Secretary 2) Ms Selai Korovusere, Director Women FIJI POLICE FORCE 1) Mr Aporosa Lutunauga, Senior Superintendent of Police 2) Ms Loata Loabeci, Assistant Superintendent of Police 3) Ms Paulini Rasila, Senior Research Officer FIJI WOMEN’S CRISIS CENTRE 1) Ms Shamima Ali, Coordinator 2) Ms Miliana Tarai, Manager Legal Services 3) Ms Mashil Shinoy, Manager Research & Training Institute 4) Ms Lavenia Raisua, Legal Officer 5) Ms Stephanie Dunn, Legal Officer 9 BACKGROUND The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women in 1993.
The UN defines “violence against women” as any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary depreciation of liberty whether occurring in public or private life.

Accordingly, violence against women encompasses but is not limited to the following: a.
Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation; b.
Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within the general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitutions; c. Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, whenever it occurs.

The audit had focused on the Women‟s Plan of Action for the period 2014 – 2019.
The Committee was informed that the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation is now reviewing its plan for the period 2020-2025 and this is will be called the National Plan of Action.

Despite the existence of relevant provisions in the Constitution and enactment of various legislations in addressing gender-based violence, there are several challenges in effecting them.
These include factors such as legislation being gender neutral whereby victims of gender-based violence can be disadvantaged, problems at the implementation level, and minimal use of legislation by women themselves.

The audit had also noted that there was no specific policy developed for EVAW.

However, this was incorporated as a section within the National Gender Policy which gives overarching direction for EVAW and it managed by the Ministry of Women, Children & Poverty Alleviation (MWCPA).
Although this effort is acknowledged, the National Gender Policy has not been revised since its adoption in 2014.

In addition, the „No Drop Policy‟ has not been renewed since its establishment in 1995 and reaffirmation in 2013.

The audit had further noted that there were several instances where reports were not submitted by FWCC to the Ministry of Women, Children & Poverty Alleviation („Ministry‟) which reflects the lack of monitoring and reviewing of such cases.
The Department of Women has successfully transitioned over the years since 1960 from being a section within the Government, looking after Women‟s interest to the Department of Women within the Ministry in 2009.

The Department is mandated by Government to undertake a wide range of responsibilities to ensure women‟s equal and active participation in the economic, social and political sector.
Since then, the Ministry‟s portfolio has moved administratively over the years from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in 1991 to the Ministry of Information in 1997, the Ministry of Women and Culture in 1998, Ministry of Women, Culture and Social Welfare in 1991 and in 2014 till to date, the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation.

The Ministry is the government agency that administers services and programmes that are aligned to the following:– 1.
Care and protection of children 2.

Provision of income support to families to address poverty 3.

Provision of policy intervention for older person 4.

Provision of policy intervention for persons living with disabilities 5.

Promote gender equality and the empowerment of women; and 6.
Monitor, evaluation and report on the progress and impact of the Integrated National Poverty Eradication Program 10 Furthermore, it is important to note that the FWCC has spent 35 years in the work towards the Elimination of Violence Against Women at the grassroots level and experience shown that in order to understand EVAW, one needs to recognise, analyse and understand the existing gender dynamics.
The centre is a human rights organisation, based on the principles as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, democracy and rule of law.

FWCC addresses the problem of violence against women using a human rights and development framework.
This focus on human rights includes a feminist‟s analysis of the problem and encompasses all aspects of FWCC‟s work, recognising that the root causes of violence against women are unequal gender power relations, embedded in patriarchy and the lack of knowledge and belief in Human Rights.
The Fiji Police Force is mandated by Law (Constitution and its subsequent Police Act, along with other legislation namely Family Law Act 2003, Domestic Violence Act 2009, Crimes Act 2009, Family Law Amendment Act 2012 and Criminal Procedures Act 2009, the UN International Conventions to which Fiji has ratified) inclusive of other policy instruments (both National and in-house) that warrants the institution to be the „driver‟ and in others cases, as a key stakeholder in this arrangements of EVAW, child abuse and exploitation.
The function of the Force in addressing gender-based violence is stipulated under Section 5 of the Police Act Cap 85 which outlines the functions not only bracketed to these propositions of domestic violence, gender-based violence, EVAW, child abuse, etc.

but across all spheres of maintenance of law and order, peace, investigation, prevention and detection of crime and abuse.

The audit findings at a glance on EVAW are depicted below for information.
The Committee is optimistic in the next follow-up audit that various legal and policy frameworks that addresses EVAW will be strengthened, there is effective implementation, monitoring and reporting are reflected cohesively.
11 COMMITTEE FINDINGS – PERFORMANCE AUDIT REPORT ON THE COORDINATION OF ACTIONS ON ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN The overall objective of the audit was to assess whether the implementation of the Women‟s Plan of Action in particular with the area on the Elimination of Violence against Women was effective.

Issues raised by the Audit 1.


The examining of the Legal and Policy Frameworks aimed at eliminating violence against women and children within the Ministry of Women and with its stakeholders 1.1 Fostering dialogue, public awareness and bridging the underlying frameworks (a) To ensure dialogue and increase awareness of the various legislations, the Ministry is partnering with Civil Society Organisations, NGOs and Women Rights Organisations.
The Department of Women has established a Ministers Forum consisting of the mentioned stakeholders.

The existence of such forums and strengthening of existing forums has enabled the Department of Women to continuously dialogue on issues in relations to women‟s development including the Ministry‟s Rights, Empowerment, Awareness, Cohesion (REACH) program which highlights rights awareness and provision of legal-aid services to rural communities.
(b) The „No Drop Policy and „Zero Tolerance‟ approach exists within the working of the Fiji Police Force on any reports lodged in line with Gender Based Violence, Domestic Violence or Domestic Violence Restraining Order Violations, and offences against children.

There is a dedicated sexual offences unit based under the Directorate of CID/HQ as well as the respective five (5) Divisional Police Commanders of the Force.
Officers within these units are trained and specialised to attend, investigate offences and complaints in the likes of reported cases such as sexual abuse and violations of women and child victims.

There were 2500 Police Officers that were trained as part of the training and development on gender-based violence.
The Force partners with a number of reputable training and stakeholder agencies such as the various Government Ministries and Departments, Civil Society Organisations, embassies, Donor/AID agencies in providing training to the Police Officers and those in communities.

(c) The Fiji Women Crisis Centre had recommended that at the Government level, a scrutiny group of EVAW and Women‟s Human Rights be formed.
The members of this group can be bipartisan and include the EVAW taskforce and experts such as FWCC to scrutinise the legislation, reform, programme or policy that addresses EVAW.

The Ministry should not take a lead on EVAW but play a very integral role on EVAW.

CSO‟s and NGOs have the expertise and programmes in place that are already yielding results.

The Ministry is involved in all spheres of women‟s development and does not specifically focus on EVAW.
The magnitude of its mandatory work has caused unnecessary delays, which could in turn affect the progress and efficiency of EVAW programmes, laws, policies and response work.
To foster and strengthen effective collaboration between key stakeholders, the FWCC recommended that a Memorandum of Understanding is formulated and endorsed between the Ministry of Women, Children & Poverty Alleviation and other international agencies and CSOs to ensure that there are no duplication of programmes, that proper consultations are carried out and that funds and assistance are adequate in order to meet the needs and development of the Fijian people.
12 1.2 The EVAW Task Force The Department of Women have included the Faith Based Organisations as part of the EVAW Task Force.

In addition, the National Action Plan advisory group includes faith based organisations as advisory group.

The Department is also holding consultations in 2020 on the development of the Prevention Action Plan and the role of various service providers is critical in this process.

The taskforce members were endorsed by the Ministry Executives.
The members of the taskforce were invited to participate at the taskforce meeting that was held on 11 October 2019.

The Department is working towards scheduling its meeting on a quarterly basis in accordance with its Terms of Reference.

For information, the last 2 meetings in the year 2018 were held in July and October and the third meeting was held in January 2019.
The Committee was advised that the next taskforce meeting will be held after the 64th Commission on the Status of Women Meeting that will be held in New York in March, 2020.

The Department had also developed a „Service Mapping Form‟ which has been sent to the Taskforce Members.

This will also be addressed as part of the consultation geared towards the Prevention Action Plan.
It should also be noted that the Department of Women‟s EVAW Desk has recently established a training database consisting of the training provided in the collaboration with government and NGOs, dates of training, training participants with sex and age desegregated data.

The Department of Women issues meeting notices to the Taskforce Members and follow-ups to ensure that the Members are present to allow quorum before the meeting commences.
The ToR mentioned that the meeting can only proceed with 60% representation or more.

The 1st meeting for the 2019-2020 Financial Year was 74% attendance with agency agencies being represented at this meeting.

2.
2.

The process of how the framework has been or will be implemented 2.1 2020-2025 National Plan of Action (a) The Ministry is currently developing a National Plan of Action („Plan‟) that prevents violence against women and girls within this process, is a rigorous national consultation process in order to understand and agree on the causes of violence against women and girls and to develop options and solutions for address this based on evidence.
The Plan will be accompanied by a National Communications Strategy/Social Marketing to ensure alignment and consistent messaging on prevention across a variety of channels to reach multiple levels of society of Fiji.

To change attitudes nationally and to engage men and boys in the collaboration process.
The National Action Plan approach will encompass the Whole of Government, whole of population approach, inclusive of all men, women, boys and girls, transformative (addressing the root causes), evidence based (effective M&E), accountable (with budgeted plans and activities) The Department of Women is working with the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs (MTA) to ensure that community members are involved in community programmes.
A focused training with the iTaukei Affairs Board (iTAB) was undertaken at National Level in 2017-2018 Financial year and in 2018-2019, divisional roll out of the National Gender-Based Violence Service Delivery Protocol (SDP) noted the participation of the iTAB.

Late last year during the 16 days of activism to end Violence against Women and Girls, the Ministry has partnered with iTAB to further its commitment in working with communities at the grass root level.
Since there is no specific policy on EVAW, the Ministry will strategize and work with key stakeholders in terms of reviewing the various existing policies.

The Department is currently developing its new Strategic Plan that will replace the former Women Plan of Action.
The committee notes that the Department of Women has reviewed the National Women‟s Plan of Action as part of the progress 13 report for the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action +25 and this has been reflected positively as part of the National Women Machinery.

It is worth noting that the Department of Women through the EVAW Taskforce will establish the Executive Management Team and the National Advisory Committee to determine the process.
At the moment, there is now a Permanent Secretary EVAW Taskforce that has been established to review the National Action Plan and will focus toward ending violence against women and girls using a whole of government approach.

(b) The revised „No Drop Policy‟ had been drawn up prior to the workings of the Family Law Act, the DVRO, EVAW, National Gender Policy and now the National Committee and Taskforces & Commission.
The mentioned frameworks and policy incorporates national conventions, treaties and protocols and this has been systematically incorporated and factored.

The full compliance of the „No Drop Policy‟ and that required under National and/or International Conventions, protocols and compliance, audits monitoring is more than mere execution of the policy, complaints or investigation per se.

However, more of infrastructural changes, financial and human investment, coordination, etc.

is needed.
is needed.

(c) One of the major challenges which FWCC has experienced is that the Police Department, particularly the new recruits, lack the knowledge to deal with gender based violence cases.

This has resulted in FWCC employing a Police Liaison Officer to consistently follow up on complaints to ensure that the necessary actions are taken by the Police.
Although the duties of the police officers are outlined in the Domestic Violence Act (DVA), there is still a need to provide basic legal trainings in a very practical manner to the Officers on the implementation of the DVA.

Moreover, relevant stakeholders involved in EVAW do not understand the gender dynamics of Gender Based Violence which results in insensitive and sometimes potentially dangerous responses to survivors.
The agency is committed towards providing trainings to all stakeholders involved in EVAW about Gender, Human Rights and Violence Against Women to deflect the attitudinal changes.

3.

The monitoring and reporting arrangements over the implementation of the framework, gaps identified and the action for improvement.

The Auditor General has highlighted that it is best organizational practice to ensure that activities of the organization are sufficiently monitored.
Monitoring activities shall include collection of data, analysis of the information and experiences and drawing of conclusions.

These are then recorded and reported together with recommendations for future actions including improvements and new developments.

Monitoring and reporting of the EVAW thematic area of the Women‟s Plan of Action is conducted via an implementation plan which has a monitoring and evaluation component and the monitoring framework.
Effective monitoring and reporting will result not only in demonstrating the changing position of women in the key areas of concern but also identify policy changes required.

Furthermore, it will improve the implementation of the EVAW programs so as to ensure that the issue of violence against women is prevented, reduced or eliminated altogether.
The Fiji Women Crisis Centre advised the Committee that it operates the National Domestic Violence Helpline on behalf of the Ministry of Women, Children & Poverty Alleviation.

This was enabled through a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between the two parties mentioned that was signed in September 2016.

The national violence helpline was launched on 8 March 2017 to coincide with International Women‟s Day and the line became operational on the same day.
Since its inception, the Centre has been consistently submitting reports to the Ministry on a monthly basis at the request of the Ministry as stipulated under the agreement.

However, to ensure that the service continues to be effective, FWCC recommended that there has to be a dedicated officer appointed by the Ministry with the relevant background knowledge on gender and well versed with the stipulations under the agreement.
14 Despite the recommendation by FWCC, the Committee is of the view that the current arrangement maybe reviewed at a later date.

Statistics submitted to the MWCPA includes the date of lodgement, number of call received with sex desegregated data, types of violence reported, areas from which the calls were made from, referrals made to agencies/service providers.
The Fiji Police Force continues to highlight the need for a coordinated workforce across government agencies with a centralised (or national) database.

In considering the changes over time, the MWCPA was able to properly transit between the two Women‟s Plan of Action.
However, there were challenges that were noted and these factors include:  commitment from various stakeholders/development partners identified as implementers to the  Women‟s Plan for Action (WPA) the establishment of the Taskforce on the identified 5 thematic areas of the WPA which also commits stakeholders to be part of this forum in implementing the strategic direction for action identified in the WPA the non-progression of some taskforces   absence of systematic monitoring and evaluation systems for all programmes under the WPA thematic areas there were no national baseline data available at the time  In view of the above, overcoming the challenges were attributed to the following enabling factors.
These were:  The first WPA was progressive in its implementation due to the progressive taskforce due to the progressive taskforce that were in place.

The various taskforces were chaired by various Deputy Secretaries whilst the Ministry acted as the Secretariat to the Taskforces  The establishment of the inter-ministerial committee on women  The transition between the first WPA to the second WPA noted a mid-term review undertaken in 2004.
The review provides the basis and recommendation on the way forward for the 2nd WPA (2010-2019)  The implementation of the WPA was allocated annual budget from Government  The department of Women expanded its staffing since the first WPA was launched in 1998.
15 GENDER ANALYSIS Pursuant to SO 110 (2), “where a committee conducts an activity listed in clause (1), the committee shall ensure that full consideration will be given to the principal of gender equality so as to ensure all matters considered with regard to the impact and benefit on both men and women equally” The Fijian Parliament has taken the initiative to mainstream gender issues in its legislative process and oversight functions.
The inclusion of gender-based analysis when scrutinizing government expenditure is a central part of the work of the Public Accounts Committee.

The goals of gender equality and empowerment of women have become important components of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and each target require the action of the Government and stakeholders.
Based on the findings gathered during the public hearing, as part of the Committee‟s oversight function, which is a cornerstone of democracy and a vehicle for holding the Executive to account, the Public Accounts Committee is tasked to monitor how effectively Government is implementing the SDGs and Parliament is the key institution in these processes.
Gender Responsive Budgeting The Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation („Ministry‟) has not yet analysed the actual spending to ascertain the segregated data between males and females.

The Ministry has however, undertaken a gender responsive budget training and capacity building for staff and has developed a Gender Responsive Budget Manual in consultation with the Ministry of Economy which is a new initiative.
The Ministry works closely with stakeholders such as Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) and Civil Society Organisations (CSO) to raise awareness to end violence against women and girls and to provide gender based violence for men and women.

The Committee notes that the Ministry recognises the need to identify a budget dedicated to EVAW and including appropriate gender analysis on budget allocations across government.
The Department of Women‟s Zero Tolerance Violence Free Community (ZTVFC) had indicated that the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls has created awareness and raised awareness to end all forms of violence against women and girls and has assisted communities to better respond to Gender Based Violence.
The Committee notes that the Gender Responsive Budgeting will link with the departments Institutional Capacity Development Imitative and shall be inclusive of the Fiji Police Force and other Ministries and Departments.
Effectiveness of the Overall Gender Goals Unless funded by Donor agencies or Government Departments (cross-sectorial funding), all funding to such programmes such as EDVAWG, regardless of men or women or child related, are sourced from the mainstream budget of the Fiji Police Force, as operational, community policing or training routine activities.
These are in turn tagged to the accomplishment of all corporate key performance indicators of the Force, two of which are directly pegged to the reduction in crime related activities for women and children which includes violence, abuse, exploitation, harassment, etc.

The audit noted that the amount budgeted for the implementation for the Women‟s Plan for Action for the years 2014 to 2016-2017 were not fully utilised.
Details of the savings are listed below: 16 Year 2016/2017 2016 2015 2014 TOTAL WPA Budget ($) 1,000,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 750,000 3,750,000 WPA Actuals($) 939,398.29 466,736.03 891,406.54 593,824.58 2,891,365.44 Savings ($) 60,601.71 533,263.97 108,593.46 156,175.42 858,634.56 Source: Budget figures obtained from Government budget appropriation & actual figures derived from FMIS The savings could have been used for improving the monitoring and evaluation process by the Ministry and also realise its full potential in carrying out is core responsibilities for EVAW.
Gender Based Violence Against Women & Children The National Research for Women‟s Health and Life Experiences in Fiji (2010-2011) conducted by the Fiji Women Crisis Centre revealed that Fiji has the 4th highest prevalence of physical and/or sexual partner violence over a woman‟s lifetime, compared with 20 countries that have used WHO research methodology.
The report also revealed that the combined prevalence of non-partner and intimate partner violence in Fiji is 71% which doubles the global estimate of 35.6%.

Below were some of the comparative data on gender based violence against women, children (boys and girls) that were submitted by the witnesses.

Table 1: Gender Based Violence Crime Against: Children Women NB: The figures does not reflect solely on domestic violence cases but also other offences committed.
2012 1369 3298 2013 1236 3226 2014 1119 3332 Year 2015 1263 3337 2016 1226 3132 2017 1083 2682 2018 1086 2664 2019 1146 2715 Table 2: Sexual Violence against Women by Offence Type Type of Sexual Offences Rape Attempt to Committee Rape Assault with intent to commit rape Sexual Assault Abduction of person under 18 years of age with intent to have carnal knowledge Indecent assault Indecently insulting or annoying a person Defilement of children under 13 years of age Defilement of young persons between 13 to 16 years of age Defilement of intellectually impaired persons Incest with any relative Year Total 612 122 13 99 45 551 4828 1 14 10 6 6301 The table above shows the types of sexual offences against women for the years 2012 – 2019.
The recent years have recorded a decrease in sexual offences.

For the year 2019, a total of 2,715 crime cases have been reported of which 9.5% of the cases were sexual crimes against women.

0 1139 0 1080 0 1263 1 1345 0 342 0 258 5 596 0 278 Total 17 Table 3: Victims Gender (Sex) – Murder Cases Crime Against: Infant Women Child (Baby to 12 years) Men 2018 - 6 2 8 Year 2019 1 14 3 8 This data shows that a number of male deaths in 2019 were 8 and none of which was related to Domestic Violence.
However, out of the 14 women that died in 2019, 9 was the result of Domestic Violence.
Table 4: Domestic Violence against Women and Children by Year Case of Domestic Violence Domestic Violence against Women (Females age is 18 years or more) Domestic Violence against Female Children (Age is less than or equal to 17 years) Domestic Violence against Male Children (Age is less than or equal to 17 years) 2012 410 2013 358 2014 378 2015 368 2016 652 2017 777 2018 480 2019 621 Year 41 10 55 12 55 14 485 21 84 47 9 41 87 24 90 45 Total 461 425 447 437 783 908 591 756 The year 2019 recorded 756 domestic violence cases against women and children while recording 591 cases in 2018.
This is an increase of 28% Based on the raw data provided by the witnesses on the domestic violence against women, boys and girls, the graph below shows the trends of cases referred reported which is portrayed below.

It can be said that 2019 showed a dramatic increase of domestic violence cases for women, girls and boys.
Domestic Violence against Women and Children by Year: 2017 - 2019 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 2017 2018 2019 Women Girls Boys Based on the cases referred under the Violence against women, men, boys and girls through the Domestic Violence Helpline, below are the domestic violence cases for Women and Girls from March 2017 – November 2019.
18 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 Cases of Domestic Violence for Women & Girls for the year Mar 2017 - Nov 2019 2017 2018 2019 Fiji Police Force Fiji Women's Crisis Centre Legal Aid Commission Family Court Department of Social Welfare Ministry of Health & Medical Services Cyber Crime Online Safety Commission Ministry of Education Ministry of Employment Save the Children FENC Bayly Fund Provincial Office iTaukei Land Trust Board The above graph shows that most cases was referred to the Fiji Women‟s Crisis Centre during the three year period totally 1,026 followed by the Fiji Police Force with a total of 537 and Legal Aid Commission with 82 cases.
The Department of social welfare was referred 67 cases and Family Court with 24 cases.

Subsequently, for domestic cases referrals for men and boys, it was recorded that 39 cases was referred to the Fiji Police Force for the period March 2017 – November 2019.

In addition, 28 cases were referred to the Department of Social Welfare, Legal Aid Commission with 22 cases, Family Court with 13 and then there were other agencies including Human Rights Commission, the Provincial Office.
Interestingly, there were no cases referred to the Fiji Police Force for men and boys in 2018.

19 RECOMMENDATIONS 1.

The Committee notes the work in progress by the two relevant agencies in combating violence against women.

The Committee recommends that more emphasis needs to be placed on recommendations by the Office of the Auditor-General in order for agencies to achieve more success in achieving its targets on elimination of violence against women.

2.
2.

The Committee recommends that relevant Agencies need to share data to effectively implement strategies to reduce violence against women.

3.

The Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation along with Fiji Police Force needs to collaborate more with Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre in regards to eliminating violence against women.

4.

The Office of the Auditor General must ensure that a follow-up audit is conducted on the Coordination of Actions for Elimination of Violence against Women.

5.
5.

More training to be conducted for Parliamentarians involving male MPs or Champions as an advocate of Gender issues and other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

20 CONCLUSION Fiji‟s 5 year and 20-year National Development Plan 2017-2036 clearly outlines Fiji‟s commitment to eliminating violence against women, with significant achievements in the last five years.
The collaborative efforts of Government and relevant stakeholders towards ending violence against women is acknowledged and the key role of the EVAW Taskforce in enabling effective collaboration between governments and non- governmental organizations.

The Committee notes that Fiji has made its commitment in the Beijing Platform for Action 1995 which addresses the objectives and empowerment of all women.

The implementation of this platform is the sovereign responsibility to each state.
This is resulted in the implementation of the first Fiji Women‟s Plan of Action (1999 – 2008) which served as a blueprint to integrate women and gender concerns and promote gender equity in the development process.

Progress on the status of women and girls in Fiji has improved tremendously over the last five years.
Significant changes have taken place reflecting the commitment of the Fijian Government alongside the endless support of women‟s organisations, non-government organisations, civil society and faith based organisations, development partners and other stakeholders in promoting gender equality (SDG 5) and the overall objective of leaving no one behind.
It is anticipated that the National Plan of Action on the Prevention of Violence against Women and Girls will soon be finalized given that the Zero Tolerance Violence Free Community evaluation has been completed and necessary standard operating procedures and policies will be reviewed proactively.
As mentioned, the taskforce must ensure that it drives the implementation of the plan through vigorous consultation and integration between governments and other key stakeholder‟s involved including other advisory groups.

21 We, the undersigned Members of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts agree with the contents of this report: …………………………… Hon.

Alvick Maharaj (Chairperson) ……………………….. Hon.

Joseph Nand (Deputy Chairperson) ………………………….

Hon.

Vijendra Prakash (Member) ………………………………… Hon.


Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu (Member) …………………………… Hon.

Aseri Radrodro (Member) 22 APPENDICES 23 APPENDIX 1: PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE QUESTIONS 24 PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE QUESTIONS Performance Audit Report on Coordination of Actions on Elimination of Violence Against Women (PP No.

129 of 2019) The Committee has taken noted of the Auditor General’s Key Findings and Recommendations provided for on page x – xvii.
In view of this, the Committee requests if you could provide an update on this together with the necessary evidence to substantiate the statements that will be provided during the Committee hearing.

No.
Key Findings Auditor General’s Recommendations Status 1. in legislations The Department of Women should ensure that:  Dialogue with Civil Society Organisations, NGO‟s and Women Rights Organisations is strengthened to ensure that legislative reform is conducted in a more integrated and comprehensive manner; Framework regulating the activities on the Elimination of Violence against Women the existence of Despite relevant provisions the Constitution and enactment of various in gender-based addressing violence, there are several challenges in effecting them.
These include factors such as gender legislation neutral whereby victims of gender-based violence can be disadvantaged, problems at the implementation level, and minimal use of legislation by women themselves.
 Prevention programs are focused on the prevention of coercive control and emotional violence, as well as physical and sexual violence, in addition rights of women and girls should be actively promoted;  Awareness and prevention programs are be delivered in such a manner the patriarchal (male dominated/male controlled) way of thinking for both men and women; that deliberately challenges  More attention is given being isolated and vulnerable communities where various research findings have shown that women and girls to be at the greatest risk; targeting to  More effective awareness programs especially on the rights and the various laws and services available to women are implemented at the targeted high risk areas;  Continue to collaborate with Civil Society Organisations (CSO‟s), NGO‟s, Women‟s Rights Organisations and other bodies in order to provide sufficient awareness to women to excise their rights under the laws when victimised; and that perpetuates domestic To “unlearn” old beliefs violence such as acceptance of violence from husbands and other beliefs.
 The Fiji Police Force should ensure that:  the No-drop policy for all offences against women and children are dealt with in a systematic and consistent manner;  Police officers on the ground are skilled to respond expeditiously and sensitively to all cases of violence against women;  Police officers undergo legal literacy trainings so that the fully legislations are the in various provisions understood;  A more comprehensive and systematic approach for gender trainings are planned to include training and consultations with NGOs and other gender and women‟s groups; and  Necessary records are maintained for trainings and awareness carried out which are readily made available 25 No.
Key Findings 2.

3. for the that since In addition, There is no specific policy developed EVAW.

However, this is incorporated as a section within the National Gender Policy which gives overarching direction for EVAW and is the MWCPA.

managed by Although is effort this the National acknowledged, Gender Policy has not been revised since its adoption in 2014. the “No Drop Policy” has not been reviewed its establishment in 1995 and re- affirmation in 2013.
However, the Fiji Police Force has indicated they have recently completed the review process with the revised policy still in its draft stage.

It has been four years since the the establishment of National Gender Policy in 2014 which may not be strong sufficient coordination to address the issue of violence against women.
It is therefore pleasing to see that based on the evidence gathered during our audit, coordination exists in four out of six coordinative the initiatives outlined Policy Gender National regarding based gender violence.
However, there is still room for improvements with respect to the following initiatives: form initiatives to in  Monitoring the effectiveness of the No Drop Policy in domestic violence cases in the Fiji Police Force; and  Analysing of the the effectiveness Domestic Violence Act 2009 ensure and continuing review of its provisions based on the the effectiveness of implementation of the law.
that Given Delivery Protocol has been the Service just its finalized,   Auditor General’s Recommendations for audit and other reviews.

The Department of Women should ensure that policies relating to EVAW are regularly reviewed in consultation with relevant stakeholders.

The Fiji Police Force should finalize the revised “No Drop Policy” without any further delay and ensure that police officers are trained for its implementation.
Status An inclusive and coordinated approach to the review and evaluation of policies and regulations should be spearheaded by the Department of Women.

The Fiji Police Force should conduct awareness and trainings on the provisions of the Domestic Violence Act 2009 and subsequently monitor and evaluate its effectiveness as per the National Gender Policy.

26 No.

Key Findings Auditor General’s Recommendations Status 4.

5.

6.

7. on focus Action cannot be implementation assessed just as yet.
Absence of review of Fiji‟s legislative compliance with CEDAW provisions.

However, the DoW has confirmed that for Fiji‟s current situation, the preparation of the CEDAW State Reports, its follow-up report, the Beijing Platform for Action (BPA) review reports and the Country Gender Assessment will constitute the most suitable review process.
the Strategic Objectives of International Plan placed more emphasis on preventative pro-active or measures whereas WPA had reactive more terms measures of in victims of responding to gender violence.

based is weak there Therefore, alignment between strategic objectives and the action plans due to the lack of effort by the DoW in undertaking research work on the root causes of violence against women.
The Policy and Research Unit within the DoW depend on the research carried out by Civil Society Organisations and Non-Government the Organisations development and implementation of Women‟s programs.

They have not engaged or conducted any proper research to gauge the true root-cause of violence that women face.

Therefore, there can be a risk that the conclusions drawn from these research findings could lead to ineffective measures and programs implemented, given the change in times.
Indicators for the achievement of target 5.2 of SDG 5 revealed and provision that the is of availability important.

However, given the multiple agencies, in Fiji‟s is no single context, agency responsible for collating and coordinating data.
However, there is clear the correlation between there data for The Department of Women should ensure that efforts are coordinated with stakeholders such as NGO‟s and CSO‟s to conduct reviews on Fiji‟s legislative compliance to the CEDAW provisions, based on the most appropriate indicators similar to the one used in the UNDP and UNIFEM review report.

The Department of Women should ensure that:  Plans for the development of the next WPA are properly aligned to the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action.
 Strategic objectives in the WPA document clearly capture what the action plans purports to reflect.

The Department of Women should:  Strengthen its Policy and Research Unit.

 Properly demarcate work, so that research work is separate and distinct from the monitoring and evaluation function of the Department.
The Department of Women should strengthen its coordinating and data collection and collating strategies in collaboration with relevant stakeholders such as the Fiji Police Force and other stakeholders.

27 No.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

Auditor General’s Recommendations Status We acknowledge this achievement.

However, please advise what were the challenges and how was the MWCPA enabled to overcome this?

We acknowledge this achievement.


As above – was this a policy decision or was this to align Fiji to the international benchmarks/legislations/conventions/etc.

which resulted in the creating of the DoW?

We acknowledge this achievement.

– With the Act now in place, please advise what is the main role of the Fiji Police Force in providing safety to all Fijians especially dealing with Violence against Women and children etc.?
The Ministry of Women Children and Poverty Alleviation (MWCPA) should tailor make the National Strategic Plan to meet the needs and objectives of their Department, through the development of a strategic plan for the Ministry itself which will be cascaded to the ACP encompassing gender based violence.

The Ministry of Women Children and Poverty Alleviation (MWCPA) should develop Annual Corporate Plans (ACP) for the Ministry and Business Plans for the Department of Women in a timely manner.
The Department of Women should:  Develop and customize Annual Work Plans (AWP).

 Capture targets/outputs in the Individual Work Plans for the agency‟s or the effective measurement of department‟s performance properly Key Findings programs projects and outlined in the NDP to the activities in the WPA.

In considering the changes over time, the MWCPA was transit to able between two Women‟s the Plan of Action.
The DoW has successfully transitioned over the years since 1960 from being a section within Government, looking after Women‟s interest, to the DoW within the MWCPA in 2009.

The Department has continued to pursue its roles as primary to Government on advisor public policies that affect women.

Included in the general role of the Fiji Police Force in providing safety and security to all people of Fiji, is also the Force‟s role combating and dealing with violence against women.
This role of the Fiji Police Force is clearly set out in the Domestic Violence Act.

While the Fiji Police Force has developed its strategic plan for the duration of four years, the MWCPA, at the time of the audit, did not have a strategic plan.

The Ministry however has now formalized a 3 year strategic plan for the years 2019 to 2022.
While we acknowledge the efforts of both lead agencies in publishing their Annual Corporate Plans (ACP), there was a delay in the preparation the and endorsement of MWCPA ACP for the years 2016/2017 and 2017/2018.

In addition to the non-preparation of the 2017/2018 Department of Women Business Plan, the formulation other organisation plans such as the Annual Work Plans for the MWCPA were not consistent over the years.
of On the other hand, the Fiji Police Force have consistently prepared published and Annual Corporate plans.

of Non-establishment the The Department of Women through the EVAW Taskforce 28 No.

Key Findings 14.

15.

16.

Team Gender Executive and Management National Advisory Committee since the adoption of the WPA in 2009.

The EVAW Taskforce is the most active thematic desk in the Women‟s Plan of Action.
are However, weaknesses to relation coordination, inclusivity, and sustainability, administration the taskforce.

there in of Management of Financial Resources is compromised by the absence of budget proposals and the non- maintenance of expenditure listings for the EVAW vote for the MWCPA.

Management of Human Resources is compromised by the increase in vacant positions at the MWCPA, Policy and Research unit not carrying out its intended purpose and absence and unsigned Individual Work Plans.
On the other hand, even though the Fiji Police Force has had increased percentage composition of women from 2014 to 2017, women still make up a small percentage of the Fiji Police Force work force.

Even so, women in prominent positions within Fiji Police Force are still Auditor General’s Recommendations should establish the Executive Gender Management Team (EGMT) and the National Advisory Committee.
Status The EVAW Taskforce should consider:  Faith-based organisations actively the prevention of violence against women and girls through their missionary work as well as through their welfare and support.

involved in  Organisations that have been discussed and agreed upon to be part of the Taskforce should be done in a timely and consistent manner.

The EVAW Taskforce should ensure that:  Scheduled meetings are adhered to as captured in the Taskforce Terms of Reference.
 Develop a Training register to capture an analysis of each  stakeholder involved in the fight for EVAW.

List the training facilitators and the type of trainings they provide and the number of training already provided, dates and its facilitator.

 All issues, recommendations, proposals, requests and suggestions are resolved and conducted accordingly in a timely manner.
The EVAW Taskforce Secretariat should ensure that meeting minutes are properly signed and endorsed by the Chairperson, prior to circulation of the minutes to the members of the Taskforce.

The Department of Women should ensure that:  All members of the EVAW Taskforce are present at the scheduled monthly meetings as per Terms of Reference.

 A quorum is called before any meeting proceedings.

The Department of Women should ensure that all Budget proposals are properly kept and maintained.
The WPA desk officer should maintain an expenditure listing/ledger for the EVAW thematic area, and the remaining thematic areas for that matter.

The Department of Women to ensure that:  All vacant positions are filled with the appropriate candidate as soon as practicable.

 Strengthen the Policy and Research Unit.

 Properly demarcate work, so that research work is  separate and distinct from the monitoring and evaluation function of the Department.
IWP‟s for all substantive post holders are properly developed and signed by the incumbent as well as their immediate supervisors.

29 No.

Key Findings Auditor General’s Recommendations Status very low.

Implementation and Monitoring of Activities on Elimination of Violence Against Women Fiji Police Force should ensure adequate police manpower to effectively control the increasing incidents of crime including crime against women.
Fiji Police Force should strengthen the method of conducting community‟s awareness regarding incidents of violence against women.

Fiji Police Force should identify gaps on the legislations relating to domestic violence and consult lead agency on the gaps between the actual works against domestic violence framework.

The Department of Women should ensure proper maintenance and up keep of records pertaining violence against women.
The Ministry of Women, Children & Poverty Alleviation and Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre should ensure honoring stipulations (paragraph 5.7, paragraph 5.9, paragraph 5.21, and paragraph 8.2) in the Grant Agreement.

17.

18.

The percentage of female victims of sexual offenses compared to male victims has been consistently rising between 2014 and 2017.

The most alarming fact is that the largest number victims of rape, abduction of persons under 18 years of age and indecent assault were minor girls.
The number of cases recorded for indecently insulting or annoying any person from 2014 to 2017 decreased by 80 %.

However, the maximum numbers (85%) for the said crime were women.

The number of violence cases reported to Fiji Police Force is low compared to other agencies that collect the same data on violence against women.
Review of the National Domestic Violence Helpline Statistics and Challenges report compiled by Fiji Women‟s Crisis Centre noted that there is a lack of urgency by relevant stakeholders in responding to domestic violence incidents.

Several instances were noted where reports were not submitted by FWCC to Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation.
The inconsistent reporting by the Fiji Women Crisis Centre indicates poor monitoring and reviewing of projects by the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation.

As a result, we could not substantiate whether the referral calls have been progressively improved.

Review of documents pertaining to the project on National Domestic Violence Helpline noted that the frequency of reporting made 30 No.

19.

20.

21.

22.
19.

20.

21.

22.

Key Findings by FWCC was not aligned with the reporting period as specified in the Grant Agreement.

FWCC submitted reports on a monthly basis whereas the Grant Agreement specified a quarterly reporting system.

The assessment of the Relevance, Efficiency, Effectiveness, Inclusiveness and sustainability of the Department of Women‟s Zero Tolerance Violence Free Community were noted through the delays in hiring external evaluator to undertake the evaluation of ZTVFC project.
The Ministry did not review the SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) to assess the effectiveness of accountability of records pertaining to each phases of the Zero Tolerance Violence Free Community Projects.

As a result, records pertaining to the identifications, commitment and declaration phases of each project engaged with ZTVFC were generally lacking with the Ministry of Women, Children & Poverty Alleviation.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the MWCPA and Fiji Police Force expired in December 2018 and is yet to be renewed.

Auditor General’s Recommendations Status The Ministry of Women, Children & Poverty Alleviation should strengthen its internal processes and ensure proper maintenance and up keep of records pertaining to violence against women.

The Ministry of Women, Children & Poverty Alleviation in collaboration with relevant stakeholders should ensure that SOPs are reviewed from time to time.
The Ministry of Women, Children & Poverty Alleviation must carry out review of the MOU between Fiji Police Force.

The review process must identify the gaps between operational works against the MOU between the Fiji Police Force.

Performance Review and Reporting of the Activities on the EVAW for the is yet years 2014 to develop a DoW comprehensive annual monitoring and evaluation plan for monitoring the impact of EVAW programs.
The amount budgeted the implementation of the WPA to for 2016/2017 were not fully utilized which resulted in a savings amounting to $858, 634.56.

Such savings could have been used for improving the monitoring process.

the The establishment of framework which monitoring includes for the Ministry Women Executive Team & National Women‟s Advisory The Department of Women should appropriately plan and budget the monitoring and evaluation activities for the EVAW thematic area as well as the other thematic areas.
The Department of Women should ensure that a monitoring and evaluation framework is developed to guide staff in actually carrying out the monitoring and evaluation activity.

31 Auditor General’s Recommendations Status The Department of Women should ensure that timelines set by the CEDAW Committee is adhered to.

The Department of Women should strengthen Collaboration with NGO‟s on issues regarding VAW.
The Ministry of Women Children and Poverty Alleviation should ensure that Annual Reports are prepared and submitted to its Minister according to the timeline specified in section 69 of the Finance Instructions No.

23.

24.

25.

(i.e.

through Key Findings Council did not eventuate.

the DoW has However, established a draft monitoring and evaluation framework which is now strengthened through the Annual Planning Process the Costed operational Plan and Strategic Plan).
Delays in the preparation and submission of the Fiji State Reports to the CEDAW Committee.

Collaboration between Government and NGO‟s on issues regarding violence against women can be strengthened.

While we acknowledge the efforts of both lead agencies in publishing their annual reports, the MWCPA Annual reports for 2014, 2015 and January to July 2016 were submitted to the cabinet office in May 2018 which is contrary to the legislative timeframe stipulated in Section 69 of the Finance Instructions 2010.
26.

Is public spending reaching both men and women?

Who are the beneficiaries?

Gender Responsive Budgeting/Mainstreaming 27.

How effective is the resource allocation in meeting the needs of both men and women?

28.

How effective is the budget implementation in achieving the overall gender goals?

29.
29.

Please provide the sex-disaggregated data for cases referred under Violence against women, men, boys and girls 32 APPENDIX 2: Witnesses, Verbatim Reports and Published Written Evidence 33 Witnesses & Verbatim Reports There were three witnesses that had appeared before the Public Accounts Committee.
Copies of the verbatim reports can be viewed from the Parliament website on the link provided: http://www.parliament.gov.fj/committees/standing-committee-on-public-accounts/ Published Written Evidence Copies of the written evidences and supplementary responses from the 3 stakeholders namely the Ministry of Women, Children & Poverty Alleviation, Fiji Police Force and the Fiji Women‟s Crisis Centre is accessible on the Parliament website on the link provided: http://www.parliament.gov.fj/committees/standing-committee-on-public-accounts/ 34