Sport critical to addressing gender-based violence, health issues in the Pacific Featured
24 March, 2021. Pacific sporting advocates share their views on the powerful impact of sport in new episode of Vosa Podcast.
In the latest episode of the Pacific podcast, Vosa, created by Good Will Media and supported by the World Bank in the Pacific and PNG, host Arieta Rika, along with guests Kevin Naiqama, Pesi Palu, and Jacqui Joseph discuss the role sport plays in creating healthier and stronger Pacific communities.
In the episode, Fiji Rugby League player and Captain of the Fiji Bati, Kevin Naiqama comments on utilising sport as a tool for behavioural change and a platform for positive role models to encourage emotional awareness and foster as sense of belonging:
“The first five years I played in the NRL you weren’t allowed to talk about your feelings. And if you did, you were seen as weak. But now, there’s an outlet where we’re sending messages where it’s not weak to speak… it’s a good space for [sports players] to share what’s going on.”
The role sport plays in combating the Pacific’s high rates of obesity and non-communicable diseases was also delved into in the episode. Pesi Palu, the Communications and Health Lead for physical activity campaign, Kau Mai Tonga, says that sport provides an opportunity to communicate “hard facts of high obesity rates and high diabetes prevalence” in a non-threatening way:
“[Sport] provides an opportunity [to be used as] a vehicle to bring messages for health… as a tool to encourage health and wellbeing.”
The role of team sport and youth engagement in confronting issues around gender based violence through the region was also discussed with Jacqui Joseph, co-founder and CEO of Papua New Guinea’s Equal Playing Field, saying that sport has been a “tool to help young men see positive forms of masculinity.”
“When you create that safe space, as a team that plays together, it allows them to talk about some of the difficult things that sometimes cause big problems for community and society as well.”
Vosa celebrates Pacific and Papua New Guinean voices and discusses the future of the Pacific region. The series is hosted by Fijian-Tongan Arieta Rika and produced by Good Will Media with the support of the World Bank in the Pacific and PNG.
