Let’s Make our Families Safe Program (Solomon Islands)

1. Let’s Make our Families Safe Program (Solomon Islands) • Competitive Grant Process Briefing • Rochelle White, Counsellor, DFAT • Brisbane, 30 April 2014 | Honiara, 2 May 2014

2. Australia’s approach to supporting gender equality in Solomon Islands

3. These activities are complemented by: • Pacific Women Parliamentary Partnerships • Regional research • Gender pilots for the Private Sector Development Initiative • Sectoral initiatives, in justice, health, education and livelihoods • Contributions to multilateral initiatives • Advocacy • … and much more

4. Why develop a program focussed on prevention of family violence in the provinces? • Shared policy interest of Solomon Islands and Australia to prevent family violence. • Very high rates of family violence in Solomon Islands: 64% of women report physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner (Family Health and Safety Study). • Efforts to date on addressing elimination of family violence have concentrated on service provision. • Pacific Women is a long term investment so it is well positioned to look at the issue of behaviour and attitude change that can be slow to occur. • There is very little awareness and service provision outside Honiara, despite 80% of the population living in the provinces. Violence against women by intimate partners Percentage of women aged 15–49, who have ever been in a relationship, reporting different types of intimate partner violence

5. What do we hope will happen through the Safe Families Program? • Start to change individuals’ behaviours and attitudes at the community level. • Offer repeated, consistent messaging from trusted sources that family violence is wrong. • Bring people together to tackle this issue collaboratively. • Create a “tipping point” where family violence is no longer acceptable in communities in the target areas.

6. Safe Families Program Goals • This grant is for the first 3 years of an anticipated 10 year program. Three year goals: • In targeted provinces women report that they have options for dealing with family violence when it occurs and that their communities have strategies to prevent family violence. • Service providers in targeted provinces are now identifying and responding to victims of family and sexual violence. Six year goals: • In targeted provinces men and women no longer consider violence to be acceptable in family relationships. • Action to prevent family and sexual violence is being taken beyond the initial two provinces targeted in this program.

7. Component 1 – Support to community activities to prevent family violence • One successful applicant from this competitive grant process will be selected to implement Component 1 of the Safe Families Program

8. Component 2 - Facilitation of coalition action at the provincial level • The Pacific Leadership Program (PLP) will facilitate coalition action at the provincial level. • PLP is managed by contractor Cardno Emerging Markets. • PLP can assist with initial coalition building, by: • convening forums to bring stakeholders together; • providing information and ideas about working collectively; and • sharing examples of coalitions active in other locations.

9. Component 3 – Rigorous Monitoring and Evaluation and support to learning processes • The Pacific Women “Hub” (also called “Support Unit”) in Suva, Fiji, will engage M&E expertise to undertake monitoring and evaluation of the program. • The Hub is managed by contractor Cardno Emerging Markets. • Aims of monitoring the program include: • assessing progress towards the desired outcome of prevention of family based violence; • providing information for learning; • providing information for accountability; and • test and further develop the key assumptions which underlie this program.

10. Theory of Change

11. Details of Component 1 - Approach to supporting community level activities to prevent family violence in 2 provinces • The implementing organisation will conduct “Local Conversations” at ward and community level to discuss and identify what kinds of organisations and activities should be supported to prevent family violence. • A broad range of activities will be encouraged and considered. • Communities will prioritise which activities should be funded. • The implementing organisation can either fund a local group to undertake activities or directly fund logistics that enable the group to carry out its activities.

12. Organisation Eligibility • This grant is open to Australian Accredited NGOs. • http://aid.dfat.gov.au/ngos/Pages/accredited.aspx. • Australian Accredited NGOs are encouraged to work in a consortium with local or regional partners: • NGOs – Solomon Islands NGOs, Pacific regional organisations, other (both accredited and non-accredited) Australian NGOs; Businesses; Churches; Community groups; National and local government agencies • Significant weighting is given in the selection criteria on the applicant having the established relationships required to effectively work at community level in Solomon Islands. • The contract will be executed between DFAT and the Australian Accredited NGO and fiduciary responsibility rests with the Australian Accredited NGO. • Only one proposal will be selected to implement the program. • Individual organisations can be part of multiple proposals / consortia.

13. What needs to be included in the proposal? (1/2) • The proposal must detail how the applicant would implement Component 1 of the Safe Families Program, as detailed in the Design Document, by describing how the applicant would: • in 2 provinces nominated by the applicant and agreed with DFAT, bring together individuals and organisations working on family violence or related issues at the community level, and other leaders, to discuss causes of family violence in their communities, what needs to be done to prevent family violence and who is best placed to do it and hence receive support (the “Local Conversations”); • facilitate these individuals and organisations to reach a consensus and develop an appreciation of the benefits of working together; • based on the consensus reached, provide financial and other support to groups to conduct activities to prevent family violence.

14. What needs to be included in the proposal? (2/2) • The proposal must: • ensure compliance with Australian requirements, including requirements for due diligence, transparency, accountability and child protection. • seek to encourage organisations or groups to join with other local actors in the implementation of their activities and contribute to learning, including being subjected to rigorous monitoring and evaluation conducted by the Safe Families Program. • outline how the applicant would work with PLP implementing Component 2 on coalitions and the contractor implementing Component 3 on M&E.

15. Recognising overlap between the three components • The DFAT Honiara Gender Team will facilitate the 3 implementers to agree to protocols and processes to determine respective responsibilities and accountabilities. • It is likely that components 1 and 2 would mobilise simultaneously, so that early lessons and trends emerging from the “Local Conversations” can be tracked and developed through the coalition building activities. • Staff engaged to work directly with communities and coalitions under each component (e.g. Facilitator, Financial Officer, PLP Broker) could be co-located in an office with office costs shared by the components.

16. More information • Safe Families Program Documents available for download at: • http://aid.dfat.gov.au/countries/pacific/solomon-islands/Pages/collaboration-opps.aspx • Design Narrative • Design Annexes • Guidelines and Templates • Invitation to Submit a Proposal • Draft Funding Order • DFAT Contact Officer: Dr Sarah Kernot • safefamilies@dfat.gov.au • +677 20011