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2/28/2023 O LE FAAMALOSIA O LE SOIFUA MALOLOINA FAALE-MAFAUFAU E ALA I LE FAAITIITIA O LE FIAMALOSIRead NowTusia: Judy Mata’utia
I faiga paaga a Le Mau ma le Matagaluega O Aoaoga I Amerika Samoa ua maua ai e Le Mau le avanoa faaauro e faataunuuina ma faaauau ai nisi o latou polokalame fai e ala i le ulufale atu i nuu ma afioaga eseese e faatinoina polokalame mo le faamalosia o le soifua maloloina faale-mafaufau e ala I le faaitiitia ma le taumafai ina ia faamutaina le fiamalosi. E lima aso Sa soso’o na amata ia Novema se’ia o’o atu ia Tesema 2022 o faagasolo nei faatalanoaga i afioaga ta’itasi e aofia ai Fagaalu, Fagaitua, Malaeloa, Futiga, ma Nuuuli ma na aofia ai tagata o aulotu eseese e amata mai i fanau iti e 4 tausaga se’ia o’o atu i tama ma tina matutua i le 80 tausaga. Sa vaaia le sagisagi fiafia mai o tagata o ekalesia mo le mafutaga ma se faatalanoaga, ma na maua le avanoa e faatalanoaina ai le tulaga o le latou malamalama ma le silafia e faatatau i le mataupu o le fiamalosi, ae po’o a faailoga ma foliga o lenei faafitauli. Sa mafai ona faasoa foi e faatatau i le taua o le tatou soifua manuia, oa mea e mafai ona tatou faia tatou te maua ai pea le soifua manuia, aemaise o tatou faalogona pea i ai lo tatou soifua manuia. Na maitauina le tiotio o fofoga o le aofia i le faasoa atu i faailoga vaaia o le fiamalosi, e taua i matua le maitauina o tulaga nei ina ia mafai ona fesoasoani ai i alo ma fanau o lo’o faataunuuina ai e nisi le fiamalosi. Se isi vaega taua lava o le mafai ona talanoa o matua i o latou alo e faatatau i le fiamalosi, e taua le silafia o upu ma faaupuga e faaaoga ina ia aua nei musu ai le tamaititi e faailoa mai tulaga nei. Ua tele foi se malamalamaga ma le silafia o le atunuu e faatatau i sauaga i luga o le upega tafailagi – o faaupuga a tagata e lafo mai, aisea e mafua ai lea tulaga, ma o a nisi auala latou te faia ai nei tulaga. O nisi nei o vaega eseese na mafai ona faatalanoaina o le toatele sa mafai ona auai mai. O sau feau? O se isi lea o ulutala o nisi o faatalanoaga na faasoa iai le toatele, ma e ese le matagofie o le faasoa ma faaupuga na mafai ona faailoa mai e nisi, ma e taofi eseese foi aofia uma na faatalanoaina lea tulaga. O le tulaga na vaaia ai ni suiga o le mafai e alo ma fanau ona faasoa ma fetufaai mai o latou manatu a’o faatasi ai ma matua i totonu lava o le nofoaga e tasi. E mo’i lava o lo’o maitauina le fefe o le fanau ae na taumafai lava e faasoa mai. O le poto e iai ona matafaioi! O se isi lea tulaga na mafai ona faatalanoaina ma na faasoa le toatele i le taua ma le saolele o lea faaupuga ma taualuga ai loa i le faaleoina faatasi e le aofia o le TAUTOGA MO SE SUIGA. I le tautoga na tauto ai le aofia latou te tautala ma le agalelei, e le agaleaga pe faatiga i se tasi, e aapa atu ma taliaina, e faia mea sili e lagona ai e isi le faatauaina o latou, faaaloalo ma aofia ai tagata uma, faia le vaega a le tagata lava ia, e taofia ai le fiamalosi I totonu o latou siosiomaga, ma tulai maim o le mea tonu, ma o le iuga o le fiamalosi e amata atu i a latou. Na faaiuina ma le manuia lea taumafaiga, ma o se amataga lea o ni faiga paaga ma le toatele i totonu o nuu ma afioaga aemaise o ekalesia, ma ua toe sauni atu fo’i Le Mau e faaauauina nei faatalanoaga mo nisi o ekalesia mo le vaega 2 o lenei polokalame ma lenei faiga paaga matagofie.
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 Written by: PROVISION
Every year in the month of February, people all over the country work to shed light on teen dating violence, so February has become known as Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. This time is when a spotlight is placed on educating folks about the importance of bringing an end to dating violence and pointing young adults, and their families in the right direction to get help. Violence between dating teens or young adults is commonplace, with 1 in 3 teens in the U.S. experiencing physical, sexual, or emotional abuse from their partners. The abuse often takes place face to face, but can also happen through social media or online. Teen dating violence may involve things such as stalking, physical violence, psychological abuse, and sexual violence. Teasing and name-calling are often thought of as normal in a relationship, but they can also build up and lead to more serious acts of violence. Oftentimes, unhealthy relationships and behaviors go unreported because teens are afraid to say anything to their friends and families. Certain demographics play a role in the amount of risk that teens face. Topping off the list of abuse victims are female students who suffer higher rates than male students. Students in the non-binary community or those who aren’t sure of their gender identity also experience higher rates of physical and sexual dating violence. Depression, anxiety, smoking, drinking, drug use, and suicidal thoughts can all be attributed to abusive teen relationships, and bad relationships can also lead to future problems in relationships. Fortunately, something can be done about it and we can all take part to prevent violence in the younger generations. Participate in teaching healthy relationship skills to our teens. Be a mentor and create a safe space where young people can find guidance. In 2022, the Love is Respect Youth Council chose the theme “Talk About It,” to deal with Teen Dating Violence. As a continuation of that theme, “Be About It” was chosen for 2023. It’s vital for us to talk about teen dating violence, but we also need to “be about it.” If you know someone who needs help with teen dating violence, hear them out and point them in the right direction to get them the help they need. “Be About It” calls on us all to create a world free from relationship abuse. For more information about Teen Dating Violence, you can also contact the Alliance.
Written by: Jennifer Tofaeono, Ex Director
In November 2022, the American Samoa House of Representatives general election results found all seventeen (17) district seats were won by male(s) resulting in zero female representation in the Fono. Women continue to be a distinct minority in politics. The largely underrepresentation of women in the Fono changes the optics of forward movement in American Samoa. In 1848 the women’s rights movement brought to light the low situation of women, and their absence of freedom. 175 years later, and women continue to have limited access to political, educational, corporate, and other important spaces. March is Gender Equality Moth dedicated to celebrating the social, political, cultural and academic achievements of women in the world. Gender Equality Month raises awareness against gender bias that continues to happen in our current society. This year the theme is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”. Women and other marginalized groups are excluded from the digital world, which needs change. Evidence shows women are being left behind from access to technology, and development of digital skills. An increase in transformative technology and digital education is necessary to allow for inclusion. When there is better representation, we can bring women’s voices to the forefront, and have our issues fairly recognized. Our community must be prepared to make changes to help increase women’s voices in political spaces, corporation spaces, and community spaces. The community must learn more about gender stereotypes and lead the discussions in their family. Focused discussions on the underrepresentation of women in the government, commerce, as well as the positive impact of addressing the gender gap is necessary. Communities can speak out about gender-based violence, and address how two in three Samoan women are physically, or sexually abused in their lifetime by a spouse, partner or relative. Check your bias, by realizing we all have internalized cultural biases of gender, and race that affects how we engage with one another. Advocate for equity, and lastly ask for better. When we ask for better, we do better. What a wonderful world it would be.  Written by: Karallyn Fitisone
The Rural Grant Project seeks to investigate and understand the fa’afafine experiences of violence. This can further be broken down into examining their help-seeking behaviors, types of violence they’re experiencing, feelings towards service providers, etc. Data was collected on the fa’afafine experience over the span of several months in 2022 and 2021. This was made possible through collaboration and partnership between the Alliance and the Society of Fa’afafines in American Samoa (SOFIAS). In late 2022 the second phase of the project began, in which service providers would be recruited to participate in the study. These service providers were recruited from various sectors including various private, non-profit, or government entities. Experiences Please note that this writing is based on personal understanding and experiences, which means the writing will contain estimates, opinions, and assumptions that are my own, and to my understanding. Over the course of 3 months, over 50+ service providers have been contacted, over 50% of those service providers became aware of the project, over 20 have participated in the survey and 16 have participated in the interview portion of the project. I was able to engage and connect with many of our service providers about the project which in itself I view as a success, because this project was made aware to a larger audience through discussions and emails. I definitely am very appreciative of all the time that our service providers have invested in the project. I see the hard work they do in their respective fields and the passion that they have to better our community. I definitely do see that the service providers are willing to undertake any training we put out in regard to our fa’afafine population and serving any of them who are victims of violence. I can see that growth is taking place within our community, as we begin to accept, adapt, accommodate, tolerate, and include newer ideas and perspectives into our lives. I have been privileged to be a part of the process that seeks to enhance and increase the quality of service provision to fa’afafine victims of violence. I look forward to the remainder of the project and to what develops from our findings. Challenges I have experienced some challenges primarily in recruitment. I understand there are factors that may have influenced participation in our surveys and interviews. Communication was a challenge in that some of the contact information was outdated for some service providers and or organizations. Other issues include a lack of response. This can be due to a variety of reasons, but in general because of the delayed or lack of responses, this has led to cancellations or to not followed through interviews with service providers. I also understand that our service providers are busy and may not have the time to participate in the project. I also recognize that the administration of the survey was during the time of year that consists of major holidays and or break for some of our service providers. These factors definitely have made it harder to achieve our intended goal number of participants, but nonetheless we have achieved a larger goal, which was to spread awareness of the project. Even with these challenges, we are confident in the information we have gathered and the positive responses and feedback from our community and service providers about the work of our rural team. Overall I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity to work on this project with such a great team! I am so glad with all the networking I have been able to accomplish and to learn about the work that our service providers are doing for victims of violence. It is refreshing to know that they are willing to participate in training if it becomes available to them. I also think this project has allowed me to reflect on the ways that I can be more of an advocate, or an ally for fa’afafine. I can also reflect on the ways I can nurture diversity and promote inclusivity. I believe this project is an excellent start for examining and investigating our marginalized communities in American Samoa, as it pertains to violence. Coming Soon: Our team is so excited to be creating a space on the Alliance website for the Rural Project! On this separate page, we plan to have our PSAs posted, links to our podcast episodes, articles/newsletter additions, gallery, and more! We hope that this page helps to serve as a place where community members, alliance followers, and those interested, can learn more about the Rural grant project, the work that we do, and the things we are passionate about! Reminder: Please follow along to any of the alliance social media pages and or check in to the alliance website and newsletter for updates and rural project progress! Check out our podcast on spotify “Falalalaga Podcast” updated twice monthly. Feel free to contact the Alliance with any questions, suggestions, or concerns you might have in regard to this project. Photo: retrieved from Society of Fa'afafine in American Samoa (SOFIAS) facebookpage: https://www.facebook.com/168150006613160/photos/pb.100070244640816.-2207520000./4629225017172281/?type=3  Written by: Jennifer F Tofaeono, Alliance Ex Director
It is February 14, 2023, and we celebrate Valentine’s Day. Today we celebrate romance and love by sending flowers and candies to our Valentine’s. It is the day we put our love life on display, as we plan romantic dinners, and send roses. It is the month of love and heart. It is also Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, and as parents it is critical that we are aware of what our teenagers are facing as they develop romantic relationships. In American Samoa at least 35.4% of Samoan Youths stated they experienced sexual dating violence, and 23.7% were physically forced to have sexual intercourse, as reported by CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS). Every year in the United States nearly 1.5 million high school students are victims of abuse from a partner. Women between the ages of 16 and 24 are abused at 3 times the national average, and almost half of dating college women experience abusive behavior. As a parent it is crucial you begin to strengthen communication with your teens. Encourage your teens to have open, and honest discussions about healthy relationships. Remember that being a parent is not always easy, especially when helping them to navigate a romantic relationship. Bear in mind they are teenagers, and their brains are still developing. This impacts their personality and decision-making. Our children face a lot of pressure when it comes to sex, substance abuse and dating. Teens are known to want their parents guidance in situations they face, make sure you’re available. It is not easy to be a parent but remember to focus on the positive. Talk to your teenagers about what a healthy relationship is like. Get to know what makes your kids soar, and feel appreciated—find how you can connect with your teenager. Lastly, recognize that parents do not have the answer for everything, and mistakes can happen. When this happens, remember we all make mistakes, but continue to be an active participant in your teens life. Be firm, and if your teen is not ready to talk to you, refer him/her to a confidential resource. If at any time you feel that your teen is in immediate danger, call 911. Data: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2023) High school Youth Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) retrieved on 2/14/2023 from: https://nccd.cdc.gov/youthonline/App/Results.aspx?TT=L&SID=HS&QID=QNINDOORTANNING&LID=AS&LID2=SL&YID=YY&YID2=SY&SYID=&EYID=&HT=QQ&LCT=LL&COL=T&ROW1=N&ROW2=N&TST=false&C1=&C2=&SC=DEFAULT&SO=ASC&VA=CI&CS=Y&DP=1&QP=G&FG=G1&FA=A1&FR=R1&FS=S1&FSC=P1&FSI=I1 |
