Sexual and gender based violence, abuse of children, separation from family, discrimination to the access of basic goods and the restriction to the freedom of movement are some of the difficulties faced by people at evacuation centers during natural disasters.

This was revealed by the UN Human rights Pacific regional office which today presented its findings to participants at the Disaster Awareness Workshop.

Workshop Facilitator Anne Thurin said the reason for this was the fact that there was a high number of people based at one evacuation centre and space was an issue, especially since it was during times of evacuation that people from different communities all gathered under one roof and this usually led to conflicts.

Thurin highlighted another reason for this was the fact that people chose which evacuation centers to go to resulting in some centers overflowing while others were virtually empty.

She also highlighted the need for stakeholders and Government to identify and clearly mark evacuations and approach the communities to appoint a manager who would make a report on whether the identified centre was up to standard or not.

Thurin added that these managers should then be taught to follow a code of conduct and ensure that a process is in place to address issues ranging from disputes to assault.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Northern Colonel Inia Seruiratu said that at the moment a meeting is expected to be undertaken by the Prime Minister’s office where all provincial officers will be briefed on the roles they take before and after a natural disaster occurs.