Cook Islands Womens Counselling Centre Punanga Tauturu Incorporated

Aims/ Objectives
The aims and objectives of the Punanga Tauturu include:

Contact Person: Tangitamaiti Ne Tara
Violence Against Women Coordinator
CIWCC Punanga Tauturu Inc
Ph: 21133
E-mail: rongo@punangatauturu.org.ck

Aims/ Objectives
The aims and objectives of the Punanga Tauturu include:

i. To provide a supportive environment for women to make decisions themselves and to determine their future when they have become victims of domestic violence and rape;

ii. To provide a 24-hour crisis telephone service and confidential counselling for victims of domestic violence and rape;

iii. To provide a centre where women can seek help and support and feel safe from violent family situations;

iv. To develop educational awareness programmes (written materials, radio, TV, programmes and community training sessions) for women and children in the community in terms of their rights;

v. To educate the perpetrators of family violence on anger management;

vi. To develop educational awareness materials, including brochures, posters and pamphlets for distribution in the schools and community;

vii. To review existing legislation dealing with women's and children's rights under the law with regard to domestic violence and rape and make recommendations for improvement.

Activities carried out
* 22-29 April Awareness Workshop on Gender, Family Violence and Legal Literacy. Held on the island of Manihiki during the Northern Group Boys Brigade Brass Band Festival. Attended by the Violence against Women and Children Coordinator (Ms Tangitamaiti Ne Tara) and the Legal Rights Training Officer (Mr Metua Vaiimene). Funded by NZAID.

The workshop was held during the Band Festival that brought both men and women, youth and children together on Manihiki from the following communities - Rakahanga Island, Pukapuka Island, Tetautua Village and Omoka Village on the island of Penrhyn, Tukao Village and Tauhunu Village on the island of Manihiki. In total approximately 250 people were there from those four islands of the Northern Group. The Northern Group because of its remote location has not had the benefit of receiving information and awareness of local and international laws regarding family violence etc, and can be considered still in its infancy stage when it comes to combating family violence.

The northern group unfortunately has been left out of various programs not only of PTI, mainly to do with its location, and this was a wonderful opportunity to target groups from four of the five islands of the northern group, to at least make some ground breaking progress in spreading our message of non-violence and assertion of rights. PTI aims to include the northern group in at least two workshops for the next financial year.

* 19-22 May Aitutaki Crime Awareness Workshop. Held on the island of Aitutaki in the southern group. Funded by NZAID.
Along with Ken Ben of the Ministry of POlice we presented at four days of workshops on Aitutaki raising awareness of peoples rights in relation to crime, Human Rights, the importance of Good Parenting, Convention on the Rights of the Child etd. We held three community workshops (four hours each), two leaders workshops (four hours each), four classroom sessions at the islands' high school (one hour each) and one TV 'talkback' show. The main feedback was that the Police werent doing their jobs well, and that the Government werent listening to the peoples wishes as concern about crime and other social issues had already been raised. A recomendation to be followed up is that the island wants to host a youth forum for young people to discuss these issues. A workshop for youth and the law by PTI should preceed the forum.

* 05-30 May Regional Training Workshop - FWCC Suva, Fiji. Funded by NZAID.
The Coordinator of our Violence Against Women and Children Project Ms Tangitamaiti Ne Tara was privileged to attend the regional training programme in Fiji last month. Ne improved her counselling skills, a major need in her job, but she also learnt about the importance of statistics, Human Rights and other aspects of the family violence arena. The workshop has helped Ne to focus on PTI target area of providing counselling services to victims of domestic violence. She would like to thank Adele and all the staff of FWCC for making her stay welcoming and fruitful.

Funding History - who funded you since you began and who is doing it now
The Violence Against Women and Children Project has been funded by bilateral aid from NZAID since at least 2000. RRRT/UNDP under the PRAJA project has funded the coordinator of the Legal Literacy Programme since at least 2001.