Under the deal approved by the Council of Ministers, Timor-Leste will receive US$15 million to fund a three year UN-led program, focusing on the elimination of domestic violence and intimate partner violence.

The program is scheduled to start later this month, focusing on three municipalities of Bobonaro, Ermera and Viqueque.

Maria José da Fonseca Monteiro de Jesus, the Secretary of State for Equality and Inclusion, said in a statement she looked forward to the “successful implementation of the programme”, that was “in line” with the government’s commitment to “promote and protect the dignity and rights of women.”

The funds come as UN figures reveal “worrying” levels of violence against women and girls in the Pacific region. In some countries, more than 76 per cent of women have

have experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime.

“Most affected are marginalised women and girls facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination,” the statement said.

In 2010 Timor-Leste passed a law criminalising domestic violence, yet it remains one the country’s biggest crimes.

Nearly one-third of all women have experienced some form of violence or assault since the age of 15, according to the government demographic and health survey. In Dili, that figures rises to one in two.
The EU-UN Spotlight Initiative is one of the world's largest investments in the eradication of violence against women and girls.