ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates violence in families in the Pacific region, with a special focus on Vanuatu. It describes that family and domestic violence refers to any violence that occurs between family members. The chapter focuses on child abuse and neglect, and intimate partner violence, the content would have relevance for other forms of family and domestic violence. Women in Pacific nations are underrepresented in leadership positions and therefore in decision making processes. It has been argued that this disparity can lead to a devaluing of women and children and ultimately to increased rates of domestic violence. Social work in the Pacific in the area of family and domestic violence must be cognisant of the contextual realities of social disadvantage, poverty and discrimination which exist throughout much of the Pacific region. The chapter concludes that family and domestic violence is prevalent across many societies.
