Cook Islands - Pacific Prevention of Domestic Violence Programme

Cook Islands
The attitudes of key religious organisations towards domestic violence
The Cook Island churches seemed to have accepted that domestic violence was a problem in
their congregations. However, it seemed that most of the major churches had no formal
policies for dealing with disclosures on domestic violence. One interviewee said that some
churches continue to be reluctant to interfere in other people’s problems.
The view of the Catholic Church is that the safety of the individual is paramount: women
should protect themselves, rather than staying in a relationship and putting the family first.
This may also be the philosophical position of other churches, but it was not clear whether the
church view translated into the actions of individual pastors.
The Cook Islands Christian Church (CICC) was taking the issue seriously and had invited PTI
to conduct a workshop for students at the Takamoa Theological College. Male members of
the CICC were also integrally involved in CIMAVA. There is no question that church leaders
involved in CIMAVA genuinely wanted to reduce domestic violence. Their involvement is
highly commended and encouraged. However, they often voiced a preference for dealing with
domestic violence through reconciliation. While this may be appropriate for some couples, it
could also increase the risk for other victims. This may indicate that they need a deeper
understanding of the dynamics of violent relationships (also see discussion on Police attitudes
to prosecutions and holding offenders to account).
Discussion
Three additional points should be considered in relation to religious organisations, particularly
as the interviewees put forward some contradictory viewpoints.
• Some interviewees saw church groups as very effective in dealing with domestic
violence. However, others said that very few women approached pastors for help, due
to their reluctance to discuss private matters with people outside the family.
• Other stakeholders noted that there was a scarcity of credible role models among
church leaders, as many were perpetrators of domestic violence: ‘They keep it under the
carpet. They need to look at the issues of their own relationships.’
• The adoption of Christian principles was seen as having reinforced stereotypical gender
roles in the Cook Islands. The implication was that churches were not necessarily a
strong agent for social change.
In all, it seemed that religious organisations were not taking a leading role in reducing
domestic violence, although the positive steps taken by CICC in particular were highly
commended.
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