Community Based Organization (CBO) Foinsa’e Unidade Dezenvolve Futuru (FUNDEF) provided capacity building training for youths in Bairo Pite Village, in Dili, on how young males can reduce violence against women.
The Executive Director of FUNDEF, Carlos Goncalves, said this training is important for youths to gain knowledge to be able to prevent violence against women either within their family or in their hamlet.
“Some 40 youths from 32 hamlets of Bairo Pite village took part in the training,” EO Goncalves.
He says they still do not have specific data about how many cases take place in their village, as their program has only been implemented this year.
He added though violence cases against women often happen therefore they [FUNDEF] provided training for the youth in their village so that the village develops a culture of peace and stability.
He said during a crisis, conflict in Bairo Pite village increases up to 75%, but since the government and the NGO community started providing these types of training conflict prevalence reduced to 30%.
“Through this training we also provided the youth with basic information about the violence men commit against women and also about domestic violence,” said EO Goncalves.
FUNDEF works in cooperation with the Secretary of State for the Promotion of Equality (SEPI), the Judicial System Monitoring Program (JSMP), Rede Feto and FOKUPERS.
Meanwhile Elizio Manuel de Sousa, Oxfam’s Representative Gender Program, said the training implemented by FUNDEF was funded by Oxfam to the tune of USD$20,000 in 2013.
“This is a very effective strategy to develop peaceful communities through local people,” said Representative Sousa.
“Oxfam provides funds and also capacity building training on how to write proposals and reports.”
In the meantime, training participant Martinha Sonia de Jesus, said the training is important for young girls also to increase their knowledge about the types of violence men commit against women.
“We know more about the violence men commit against women and we understand violence is a crime,” said de Jesus.
