Many religious leaders, when asked for comments by the
media, speak out against gender violence. Yet how are we addressing the issue
of violence in general and in particular violence against women and children
within our communities of faith, mata-siga
and bible-study groups etc?
In a society that holds dearly to religious values that
promote peace, justice and the greater good, the question needs to be asked:
what are we doing to stop violence from destroying our homes and our
communities?
One of the critical areas that has been needed is the
training of clergy, church workers and lay leaders in not only understanding
the issues surrounding violence against women and children but also how they
can impart this knowledge and lead their congregations to eliminate violence
against women and children from the pulpit and within the community.
How do religious organisations to respond to violence in
the home and the community in a country where close to sixty percent of the
population claim to believe in and follow the teachings of Jesus the Christ,
who uplifted and empowered the status of women?
The South Pacific Association of Theological Schools
(SPATS) is an organisation that is not only responsible for the accreditation
of theological training institutions in the region but also in developing
curricula that address the important emerging issues of our time. It is an
ecumenical partnership of 29 schools of the South Pacific basin compromising of
15 islands including Australia and New Zealand as its associate members.
SPATS challenge is to
bring together a multi-lingual, multi-cultural and geographically scattered
membership. The twenty-nine member schools are spread across the vast
expanse of the Pacific Ocean, from Tahiti in the east to Vanuatu in the west,
from the Marshall Islands in the north to the Aotearoa in the south. The
area encompasses the three major Pacific regions: Micronesia, Melanesia and
Polynesia.
SPATS seeks to commit itself in three main core values:
1. Ecumenism - Value the mixture of Christian
traditions stated by the Member Schools in understanding creative relationship
in theological education among theological institutions.
2.
Quality
Education - Enhancing and
training for higher education by improving common practices and standards.
3.
Leadership
Training - Upholding the
significance of leadership as a fundamental goal in its dominated ministerial
formation of theological education. It is a tool for institutions to accomplish
their church missions in developing skills for lecturers and students for
future church leadership roles.
So far SPATS has developed two training manuals for
addressing HIV and AIDS as well as one for on the issue of disabilities.
Through its WEAVERS (Women Doing Theology) programme it has also worked on
developing a training manual on the Church and Violence Against Women.
Yesterday (Tuesday) an important step was taken in the
struggle to face something often unspoken in the context of church life in
Fiji, with the launch of the iTaukei/Vosa Vaka Viti version of the training
manual on the Church and Violence Against Women.
The manual has already been translated into a number of
Pacific islands languages.
The launch of the iTaukei/Vosa Vaka Viti version of the manual is an important step in addressing
this uncomfortable issue in worship services, prayer meetings, and teaching
programmes in places of worship as well in religious education classes in
school.
Many churches and other religious organisations have
Men’s Fellowship groups and youth groups. These are also important forums and
spaces in which to seriously discuss the role of men in perpetrating and, more
importantly their role in preventing all forms of violence against women.
The manual was launched by the head of the largest
Christian group in Fiji, Rev. Tuikilakila Waqairatu of the Methodist Church in
Fiji.
Earlier this year, Rev. Waqairatu spoke at a regional
workshop on eliminating gender-based violence, acknowledging that was, “legitimised by many cultures, institutions
and some Christian groups in society and its effects are extensive in nature.”
He was quoted as
saying that the church “must create a climate of openness and develop policies
and procedures which keep children and the vulnerable safe from harm.”
I acknowledge that
many Christian churches and other faith-based organisations are meaningfully
engaged in this issue. At the same time the newly translated manual will be an
important tool in elimination of gender-based violence.
Having worked with
the English language version in educating would-be ministers at Davuilevu
Theological College, I have witnessed first-hand the change in attitudes to the
issue of violence against women and children as students worked through the
manual.
While the attitude
of ministers and pastors towards this issue is important, at the same time this
manual is not piece an overly academic literature but has facts, explanations
and provides a biblical and theological understanding for Christians to work
together at all levels of the community to understand and overcome violence
against women and children.
“Simplicity, Serenity, Spontaneity”
ENDS
No comments:
Post a Comment