A FIJI male advocate for ending violence against women, Tevita Seruilumi, will this week address New Caledonia's customary senate on White Ribbon Day.
Mr Seruilumi and a Tongan counterpart, Usaia Hemaloto, will talk about their advocacy work with other men to end violence against women.
Apart from New Caledonia's customary senate, they will also address an all-male body that advises the New Caledonian Government on customary issues from an indigenous perspective.
The two male activists were invited to speak about their experiences to staff of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community and participants at events around New Caledonia.
SPC director general Dr Jimmie Rodgers said violence against women was a major problem in the Pacific.
"We all have an essential role to play to put a stop to it," he said.
Dr Rodgers made the comment in the lead-up to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women - or White Ribbon Day - on November 25.
This year's theme is "Commit, Act, Demand: We CAN End Violence against Women".
He said efforts to address the issue required personal, public and political commitment.
"Leaders in our region need to lead from the front," Dr Rodgers said.
"They must demonstrate genuine political will, founded on the principle of mutual respect for one another and equality of all people in Pacific Island countries and territories regardless of race, colour, gender and or social standing.
"They must value all their people equally and also protect them all equally."
Dr Rodgers referred to a newly-published Family Health and Safety Study in the Solomon Islands which showed 64 per cent of women aged 15 to 49 had been in a relationship and reported experiencing physical or sexual violence, and sometimes both, by an intimate partner.
