A Public Theology Response to Domestic Violence in Samoa

Abstract

Domestic violence is a serious social problem in Samoa. Some studies have suggested that nearly half of Samoan women have been subject to abuse by intimate partners or parents. The increase in cases of domestic violence in Samoa is slowly raising the public’s awareness of its impacts on the victims, who are overwhelmingly women and children. The growing number of named cases of domestic violence, and many other cases, which are not reported, should make domestic violence a priority issue in theological reflection. This article explores how this pressing issue of domestic violence in Samoa may be seen as a case study for an Oceanic public theology.