Australian Embassy
Timor-Leste

Australian Government funded Ending Violence against Women program awards USD$1,360,000 in grants to civil society organizations providing services to women and children affected by violence in Timor-Leste

Australian Government funded Ending Violence against Women program awards USD$1,360,000 in grants to civil society organizations providing services to women and children affected by violence in Timor-Leste

09 March 2015

The Australian Government and The Asia Foundation in Timor-Leste are proud to announce USD$1,360,000 in grants through the Ending Violence against Women program. This program supports services for women and children affected by violence, and court monitoring for cases of violence against women.

At the launch of the grants at Hotel Timor today, Australian Ambassador to Timor-Leste Peter Doyle said the five organizations receiving funding are engaged in critical work to support women - through the provision of safe places, counselling, medical assistance and legal assistance.

“The Australian Government is proud to be funding the services provided by Casa Vida, Uma Mahon Salele, PRADET and ALFeLa. We are also proud to be supporting the important monitoring and analysis work of the Judicial System Monitoring Programme (JSMP). “

“Women’s empowerment is a key priority for the Australian Government. We hope that through this and our other programs we can support government and civil society to improve planning and service delivery to ensure better outcomes for women and children, including by reducing levels of violence.”

With representatives of Timor-Leste’s Ministry of Social Solidarity, Secretary of State for the Support and Socio-Economic Promotion of Women, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Health in attendance, Deputy Country Representative for The Asia Foundation Todd Wassel noted the importance of a whole of government approach to ending violence against women.

“In the last year alone, the partners of the Ending Violence Against Women program provided services to 1037 women and children affected by violence. Sadly, the number of clients continues to increase.”

“Our vision for the future is for a reduced number of women experiencing violence, for a broader reach of enhanced services funded overwhelmingly by a range of government agencies. A new government always brings new opportunities and there are many in this sector.”

The launch of the grants coincides with International Women’s Day 2015, a global event celebrating advances in gender equality, women’s rights, and women’s empowerment, and calling for continued action to ensure women’s full enjoyment of their human rights and equal participation across all facets of society.

The Ending Violence Against Women program is up to USD$20M, four year intervention which aims to reduce the proportion of women in Timor-Leste who experience violence, and to improve well-being for women and children affected by violence. The program is working closely with government and civil society partners to improve capacities, enhance service delivery, and put local and global learnings into practice to enable greater numbers of women, men, and children to live lives free from violence.
 

Australian Ambassador, Peter Doyle and Her Excellency Veneranda Lemos Martins, the Secretary of State for the Support and Socio-Economical Promotion of Women present certificates to local organisations