Local villages are working with the Samoa Victim Support Group (S.V.S.G.) pushing for better awareness on domestic violence and address violence of all kinds. 

One of the ways they engage with the community is through workshops and trainings. Representatives selected from each of the villages have been undergoing such training, which allows the information to pass down to the people through the village councils.

An S.V.S.G. Project Manager, Papalii Ene Isaako, said his job is to make sure that the projects carried out by the non-profit organisation are delivered.

"They are trained on their roles and responsibilities to make sure that their families and villages are safe and secure from violence," he said,

"This is the first year that they are carrying out this program for all the villages and their reps and this is the third workshop. They hope to increase more village representation, especially from Savaii, in future programs.

"It makes sure that the violence is eliminated from our societies. They also have to agree to a code of conduct."

The S.V.S.G. held a two-day retreat and workshop with 32 participants. It is funded by the Australian Government-funded The Tautua – Human Development for All Program. The program is set to go on for four years and hope to finish by 2024.

A number of donor agencies including the Australian Government and the European Union Delegation (EU) have been funding programs run by non-government organisations in Samoa such as the S.V.S.G. to tackle gender-based violence as well as violence against women and children.

A national public inquiry into family violence in Samoa in 2018 by the Office of the Ombudsman/National Human Rights Institution found "physical, harsh verbal discipline/violence and sexual violence towards children has reached epidemic levels."

The inquiry also concluded that 9 out of 10 children in Samoa experience violence in their lifetime; physical discipline/violence is often extreme in nature, going way beyond what is ‘reasonable punishment’ under Samoan law; and sexual abuse of children and incest levels have reached ‘epidemic’ proportions in Samoa.