In mid-2018 the findings of an inquiry into violence perpetrated within the family in Samoa were released and confirmed a national crisis that had been festering behind closed doors for a very long time.

The June 2018 Human Rights Report produced by the Samoa Office of the Ombudsman (National Human Rights Institution), revealed a hideous side of human behaviour that was already tearing apart hundreds of aiga (families), resulting in injuries and on numerous occasions, even death.

The three findings of the inquiry – out of a total of 50 findings – surmised that the causes, triggers, and consequences of family violence were inter-connected; violence and sexual violence against children had reached epidemic levels; and it affected almost all families in Samoa with “extremely high numbers of people experiencing extreme violence in their lifetime.”

It has been close to five years since the publishing of the report by the Office of the Ombudsman, and we believe families and their loved ones in Samoa are more vulnerable to violence today than ever before if the number of cases being reported by local law enforcement agencies is any indication.

In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic would have exacerbated it, based on global trends. UN Women, in a report titled The Shadow Pandemic: Violence against Women during COVID-19, estimated that one in three women worldwide experienced physical or sexual violence mostly by an intimate partner during the pandemic.

“Since the outbreak of COVID-19, emerging data and reports from those on the front lines, have shown that all types of violence against women and girls, particularly domestic violence, has intensified,” reads the UN Women report.

This is why an article (Samoan charged in Australia for sexual assault) in yesterday's edition of the Samoa Observer wouldn’t come as a surprise to many. The article reported on the arrest and charging of a 25-year-old Samoan seasonal worker in Brisbane, Australia. He allegedly dragged a 20-year-old woman into the bushes next to a shopping mall and attempted to rape her, before bystanders intervened and reported him to the police. He was released with strict bail conditions: report to police three times a week; stay at home between 6 pm and 3 am; and be banned from consuming alcohol. He will be back in court in June.

The article confirmed that the scourge festers at the community level, and when chronic abusers move overseas – either for pleasure or employment opportunities like seasonal work in either Australia or New Zealand – it is business as usual for them, irrespective of the country and the jurisdiction they are in, thus endangering those they interact with or come across.

The charging of the Samoan man also puts a spotlight on the screening process, prior to his deployment to Australia, in order to ascertain whether he has been in trouble with the law before. We understand that Samoan police clearance is mandatory for all seasonal work applicants. But is that level of scrutiny and certification effective in identifying workers with a record before they get on the plane?

The other Samoan seasonal workers in Brisbane, who were also deployed with the attempted rape suspect and are part of his cohort, have every right to feel let down by their colleague. They are right in that they are not only representing their families, but also their community and the country. 

"We have to be mindful that we carry the names of not only our families but also our country, Samoa. I hope this brother will learn from what happened and what he had done and become a better person,” said one of the seasonal workers.

The threat that violence poses to women and girls in Samoa will remain – so long as its perpetrators, who live and rub shoulders with many of us on a daily basis – are not called out over their conduct and then end up taking their behaviour, attitudes, and beliefs elsewhere.

Last month a Cabinet Sub-Committee recommended districts take over the screening and selection process of aspiring seasonal workers, which the Cabinet has endorsed to go into effect this year. But even getting the districts involved in the screening and selection process is not the silver bullet needed to tackle this kind of behaviour.

There is no doubt that this needs a generational change and those small baby steps have to be taken today. There is a need to get Samoa’s youth to see and have a sense of appreciation for where they stand in terms of culture (fa’asamoa), their church, and human rights, and whether the violence of all forms and kind will reflect who they are and what they will become as a person.