A proactive new approach to breaking the cycle of domestic violence in the Solomon Islands is set to be unveiled soon with a new perpetrator intervention framework to be officially launched next month.
This followed a landmark consultation from the 13th to the 17th of October 2025.
The Domestic Violence Perpetrator Consultation brought together key representatives from the Christian Care Centre and the Anglican Church of Melanesia.
These two organizations, long at the forefront of supporting victims and providing crisis care, have united to develop a robust framework for working with perpetrators.
The most significant outcome of this consultation is the official formation of a new program named the “Seif Famili Releisonsips”, launched on Friday 24 October.
The program design and development has also been shaped through consultation with and support from the law and justice sector.
Program Manager for Christian Care Centre, Ms Florence Misitomu shared that this program could be the way forward to address domestic violence in homes.
“The main aim is to address domestic violence in our society, to root out the cause and ensure that families, women and children are safe within a healthy relationship,” Ms Misitomu stated.
“ The consultation and training guided by a team of experts from ASIPJ helped the participants to understand how to communicate with domestic violence perpetrators in a way that they are not demonized but guided back into a path that is healthy for their families.”
The consultation successfully laid the groundwork for the new program by focusing on three key objectives;
– Developing a shared understanding of perpetrator rehabilitation within a local and faith-based context,
– Establishing safe and accountable protocols for referring perpetrators into rehabilitation programs, ensuring victim safety is the paramount concern at all times and;
– Creating a coordinated response model where victim support services and perpetrator interventions work in tandem, sharing expertise to protect families.
This pioneering collaboration between a frontline victim service and a major religious institution marks a proactive and holistic shift in the society’s response to domestic violence.
The program will be opened to referrals from SAFENET and run parallel to the justice system with referrals also from law and justice agencies.
The magistrates courts will refer domestic violence offenders to the program prior to issuing of final protection orders or through a condition for non-custodial sentence.
The outcomes of the consultation and the Seif Famili Releisonsips (SFR) program are expected to lay the foundation for pilot programs within communities as well as with law and justice agencies.
This initiative is supported by the Australia – Solomon Islands Partnership for Justice and is funded by the Australian Government.
