New research undertaken by the Samoa Victim Support Group and the University College London will collate data on what adolescents think should be done to stop violence against women and girls.

The project titled “Youth that Can End Violence” is an extension of the EVE (Evidence for Violence Prevention in the Extreme) research project and develops a local-based solution to ending violence against women and girls in Samoa.

The aim of the work with the youth is similar to the larger EVE Project, in gauging an understanding of violence against women and girls and how to prevent it from the perspective of the youth.

Together with the five villages of Manono, Vaiee, Satalo, Fagaee, and Satitoa, they will work together with youth which will allow them to develop solutions for preventing violence in their own communities.

The goal of the project is to understand adolescents’ perspectives on violence in families, relationships and communities, and to use engaging and fun methods to co-develop and disseminate a locally relevant intervention to prevent VAWG with adolescent youth.

A researcher from UCL in the Institute for Global Health, Hattie Lowe will be leading the project with the help of her Samoan partners and colleagues.

Ms. Lowe is a qualitative researcher with expertise in violence prevention. She is working with a team of local peer researchers to collect data from 48 adolescents in selected villages.

“After two months of training and preparation, our peer researchers have started facilitating group activities for the project. It’s incredible to see them using and developing their qualitative research skills and building relationships with their participants,” she said.

“We’ve learnt a lot already from the adolescents and we’ve been inspired by their willingness to share their opinions and to learn from each other on the topic of violence prevention. “

The project uses a participatory approach, giving youth a voice and a platform to share their experiences and perspectives on how violence can be prevented. The goal is this develop effective and locally relevant intervention methods against violence against women and girls in Samoa.

The project has now started with adolescents from all the villages, and the researchers are hopeful that their findings will lead to the development of a more effective and locally relevant intervention to prevent violence among adolescents in Samoa.

The project is funded by the University College London. It is expected to be completed at the end of November.