Final Evaluation: Increasing women's access to justice: a project to implement the FPA in Solomon Islands

Author(s)/editor(s)

Daniel Evans and Anika Kingmele, Sustineo Pty. Ltd.

Location: Solomon Islands

Grantee: Pacific Regional Rights Resource Team of the Pacific Community

Grant Period: 1 May 2017 to 30 April 2020

Grant Amount: USD 458,980

From May 2017 to April 2020, the Pacific Regional Rights Resource Team of the Pacific Community implemented “Increasing women's access to justice: a project to implement the FPA in Solomon Islands”. The project sought to address domestic violence by advancing aspects of the Solomon Islands’ 2014 Family Protection Act (FPA), which came into force in 2016. It aimed to engage with Authorised Justices (AJs), a position established under the FPA that can issue interim protection orders to stop perpetrators committing acts of domestic violence. It also aimed to raise awareness of the AJs, gender-based violence and the rights of women and girls under the FPA.

Main findings of the evaluation:

Although the project’s success was modest, it notably improved understanding about Authorised Justices and confirmed gaps in the state justice system that undermine legal protection for women survivors of family violence in the Solomon Islands.
Despite mixed results, the project did improve understanding that gender-based violence is illegal (including forced sex within marriage) and increased knowledge of laws concerning domestic violence.