About Vanuatu Women’s Centre (VWC)

The Vanuatu Women’s Centre (VWC) is an independent women’s rights and civil society organisation based in Port Vila, established in 1992. VWC’s goal is to eliminate violence against women and children throughout Vanuatu. To achieve this long-term vision, VWC runs a national program to prevent violence before it occurs, and to assist women and children currently living with this problem.

This is done through the national VWC Network including:

• The main centre of VWC in Port Vila;
• 5 Provincial Branches:
  • Sanma Counselling Centre (SCC), established 1995
  • Tafea Counselling Centre (TCC), established 2001
  • Torba Counselling Centre (TOCC), established 2011
  • Malampa Counselling Centre (MCC), established 2015
  • Penama Counselling Centre (PECC), established 2017
• A rural volunteer network of 39 Committees Against Violence Against Women (CAVAWs) that undertake community awareness activities and assist women and children in remote areas;
• A national network of trained male advocates (volunteers) working closely with VWC, Branches, and CAVAWs, applying a women’s human rights perspective within their communities and organisations.

VWC’s nationwide program has several integrated components and strategies. The core strategy is to provide an effective and confidential crisis counselling service for women and children victims/survivors. This empowers clients to make their own decisions on dealing with violence, claim their rights, and access justice, including through individual legal advice and advocacy. This feminist strategy informs all VWC’s work to eliminate violence against women and children.

Since its inception, VWC has also focused on preventing violence by raising community awareness that violence against women and children is a crime and a violation of human rights. The prevention approach builds understanding of the violence’s nature and impact, emphasizing that it stems from gender inequality.

Legal advocacy for policy and legislative change