In 2018, the Human Rights and Social Development (HRSD) division of the Pacific Community (SPC), convened a “Regional Consultation on the Implementation of Domestic Violence Legislation: from Law to Practice” for senior Government representatives from Ministries/Departments responsible for implementation of domestic violence legislation. A key outcome of this meeting was the establishment of the Regional Working Group on the Implementation of Domestic Violence/Family Protection Legislation (RWG) which subsequently had their first meeting in May 2019.

The RWG, with support of the HRSD as ‘the Secretariat’, agreed to convene two meetings annually (one face-to-face and one virtual). The Secretariat, in close consultation with the Chair and Deputy Chair, managed the overall coordination and convening of the meetings. The Chair and Deputy Chair of the RWG, since inception, has been Fiji and Samoa, respectively.

Due to the COVID 19 pandemic and the challenges brought on by Tropical Cyclone Harold, Yasa and Ana, the RWG was unable to hold the annual face-to-face meeting in 2020. However, a smaller virtual meeting was held in 2020. This led to the full virtual meeting held over three days from 24 – 26 August 2021 (23 – 25 August – Cook Islands) as the 2nd annual meeting of the RWG.

The following report summarises and captures the key deliberations over the three days based on discussion papers from the sub-committees and presentations from development partners/key stakeholders complementing the work of the RWG in the region. The outcomes document of the meeting is also included in this report.