Call for Samoa's chiefs and orators to help stop domestic violence

A Samoan woman MP says the country's chiefs and the village orators have all the power needed to put a stop to domestic violence.

MP Fa'aulusau Rosa Stowers, told Newsline Samoa the village councils have the authority to regulate by laws in the villages, and can be the most effective response to domestic violence.

She asked that if traditional councils were effective in their regulatory role on serious police offences in the villages, why not extend this same authority to those who commit violence against women and children.

Her concerns were voiced in the wake of the damning report from the National Inquiry into Violence Against Women and Girls.