As Samoa struggles to adapt to the reality of COVID-19, the most vulnerable are fighting twice as hard to survive COVID and the deadly domestic violence pandemic, inflicted through a power and control struggle, with the majority of the victims being women and children.
“Samoa Victim Support Group is therefore appealing to our people to remember, that help is just a phone call away.
This is through SVSG’s 24 hours, free Help Line number 800-7874. It has been saving lives, while providing an avenue for concerned members of the community to become the voice for the most vulnerable.” Georgina Lui, Chair of the SVSG Board.
A mother’s beating over the Mother’s Day weekend, her struggle to save herself, an unborn child as well as her 3 year old daughter, is not only at the heart of the SVSG Help Line and why it was set up; to enable the most vulnerable to access support 24/7; but also, directly related to SVSG’s protection mandate for abused women and children.
In SVSG’s role as a frontliner in providing response and relevant support services for victims of domestic and gender based violence, we can never get used to the ugliness of violence and the ripple effect on families and communities.
The story of this mother is therefore a reminder that as a community, we each have a part to play, and with the adequate support and response systems in place, the victims can be saved.
The fact that the abused mother was able to tell her story means that she managed to escape, she was rescued and her story forms part of the ongoing efforts to address the issue of violence, by encouraging other women enduring violence to speak out.
The friend who became the voice of the abused mother is acknowledged for her bravery under very difficult circumstances. Thank you for calling the HelpLine, which triggered the connection with the Police and their own immediate response.
“The continuous partnership between the two telecommunication companies behind the free operation of the Help Line by SVSG, namely Digicel Samoa and Vodafone Samoa is therefore acknowledged, as without it, the victims will not be able to access support 24/7.”
From SVSG’s corner, we have a network of supporters within reach through the SVSG village representatives around Samoa.
The church leaders whom we have been working with are there to provide immediate support. We have the free Help Line number 800-7874 which gives you access to support 24/7, or if you wish to remain anonymous, you can just call us on the Help Line to relate a situation requiring assistance and we will take it from there.
Because regardless of the circumstances surrounding these devastating occurrences around us, it is SVSG’s experience that the effect of anger not only on the perpetrator, the survivor but also on the innocent children, always end up in horror.
For immediate support, please call the 800-7874 SVSG Help Line. It is FREE and it is a 24-hour service.
