Leaving No One Behind, the Spotlight on Women and Girls with disabilities in Samoa

At the forefront of national and community advocacy for rights of persons with disabilities is the resilient and powerhouse Mata’afa Faatino Utumapu. A champion for women and persons with disabilities always at the frontline, Ms Utumapu is the general manager for Nuanua o le Alofa, National Council for Persons with Disabilities in Samoa, representative of women with disabilities on the Spotlight CSO Reference Group and is an Orator chief “Mata’afa” from the village of Vailoa Palauli Savaii.

Can you elaborate on a key best practice you were able to get out of the partnership with UNDP under the European Union and United Nations Spotlight Initiative Samoa Country Program.

My name is Mata’afa Faatino Utumapu, I am the manager of Nuanua O le Alofa (NOLA), which is the national advocacy organisation for people with disabilities in Samoa. The organization’s mission is to ensure recognition and advocate for opportunies for people with disabilities and for people with disabilities to be recognized as equal members of society. To do this we work with government in all of it is forms, as well as persons with disabilities whom we have as affiliates of NOLA. We also work with disability services providers and special schools.

Women with disabilities are more vulnerable to violence and discrimination. They face multiple forms of abuse and neglect. In terms of the best practices with our partnership with the Spotlight Initiative, one of the key policy tools we have been advocating for to be achieved under the Spotlight was the formulation of our Strategic Plan 2026. Discussions to commence development happened on this late last year, and we now have a draft Plan ready. We advocated for the inclusion of persons with disabilities especially woman and girls with disabilities in Spotlight national and community initiatives. We successfully had our members lead and participate in the community dialogues on ending violence which heightened the advocacy during 16 Days of Activism in 2020 and 2021.

As a member of the National Civil Society Reference group under Spotlight, I personally was able to ensure that women, persons with disabilities are included not only in the services offered under Spotlight, also in making sure that their needs and reasonable accommodations are met to ensure that women and persons with disabilities are present and genuinely engaged. Not just to participate but as equal participants of programs. Examples of those reasonable accommodations include but are not limited to the availability of sign language and the availability of brail for persons who are blind and persons who are deaf.

What was different about the assistance provided under Spotlight compared to other funding?
What was different was Spotlight was touching on the issues affecting the disability community, using a twin-track approach, through Spotlight, provided capacity building opportunities to the community, and implementers receiving assistance from Spotlight also listened to the community needs. Through listening to the community’s needs, Spotlight continued to change their approach to and be inclusive based on the Leave no one behind principle.

I would like to acknowledge the support of the Spotlight Initiative by enabling NOLA to develop and discuss with its members their Strategic Plan to inform the direction of the organisation going forward. Further to this, it enabled the NOLA to reach out to its rural members through the work that we have done with the Law & Justice sector to reach out to members of Manono Island on the significance of ending violence against woman and girls. The trust given to the organisation as the lead agency in advocacy and awareness through conducting an exit audit of the UN premises in Samoa and as witnessed through the establishment of an exit walkway for people with physical disabilities.

These critical results and as well the translation of materials through other activities that have been implemented under Spotlight. The availability of sign language in all Spotlight events is a result of a well-established network. These results can be used as best practices in terms of securing more support for people with disabilities. I believe the collaboration under the Spotlight Initiative has in all of its forms, signifies the commitment by NOLA as the lead advocacy organisation to make sure that the UN commitment under the International Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities which was ratified by Samoa in 2016, is made real.

Where do you see support for gender-based violence work in the future?With the availability of frameworks to tackle gender-based violence, what needs to be done now is to ensure that these frameworks are then translated into actions. Noting that the frameworks have been developed in accordance with the practical needs of woman and girls with disabilities in relation to gender based violence.

At the forefront of national and community advocacy for rights of persons with disabilities is the resilient and powerhouse Mata’afa Faatino Utumapu. A champion for women and persons with disabilities always at the frontline, Ms Utumapu is the general manager for Nuanua o le Alofa, National Council for Persons with Disabilities in Samoa, representative of women with disabilities on the Spotlight CSO Reference Group and is an Orator chief “Mata’afa” from the village of Vailoa Palauli Savaii.

Can you elaborate on a key best practice you were able to get out of the partnership with UNDP under the European Union and United Nations Spotlight Initiative Samoa Country Program.

My name is Mata’afa Faatino Utumapu, I am the manager of Nuanua O le Alofa (NOLA), which is the national advocacy organisation for people with disabilities in Samoa. The organization’s mission is to ensure recognition and advocate for opportunies for people with disabilities and for people with disabilities to be recognized as equal members of society. To do this we work with government in all of it is forms, as well as persons with disabilities whom we have as affiliates of NOLA. We also work with disability services providers and special schools.

Women with disabilities are more vulnerable to violence and discrimination. They face multiple forms of abuse and neglect. In terms of the best practices with our partnership with the Spotlight Initiative, one of the key policy tools we have been advocating for to be achieved under the Spotlight was the formulation of our Strategic Plan 2026. Discussions to commence development happened on this late last year, and we now have a draft Plan ready. We advocated for the inclusion of persons with disabilities especially woman and girls with disabilities in Spotlight national and community initiatives. We successfully had our members lead and participate in the community dialogues on ending violence which heightened the advocacy during 16 Days of Activism in 2020 and 2021.

As a member of the National Civil Society Reference group under Spotlight, I personally was able to ensure that women, persons with disabilities are included not only in the services offered under Spotlight, also in making sure that their needs and reasonable accommodations are met to ensure that women and persons with disabilities are present and genuinely engaged. Not just to participate but as equal participants of programs. Examples of those reasonable accommodations include but are not limited to the availability of sign language and the availability of brail for persons who are blind and persons who are deaf.

Leaving No One Behind, the Spotlight on Women and Girls with disabilities in Samoa

October 2, 2022