Dili, 11 March 2026 (Média Democracia) – Secretary of State for Equality (SEI), holds first meeting of 2026 on referral network and advocacy Timor Leste.
According to Director General of the Secretary of State for Equality (SEI) Armando da Costa stated, the referral network is a coordinating mechanism working together with partners on countering gender basedviolence in Timor-Leste.
“Today the Secretary of State for Equality (SEI) together with all members of the referral network held the first meeting of 2026, this referral network meeting is a coordination mechanism working together with all partners working on countering gender basedviolence in Timor-Leste, to think together with their resources, especially to look at the situation or problems that SEI faces and discuss solutions.” said Director General of the Secretary of State for Equality (SEI) Armando da Costa.
The Director General of the Secretary of State for Equality (SEI) also reported that in 2025 SEI recorded a total of 1,182 cases of domestic violence, and also 249 cases of sexual abuse by the end of 2025. This year, SEI is collecting data from cases that happened through our implementing partners, these cases all come from our focal points where police collect and bring to the tribunal SEI.
On the other hand, National Director of Gender Equality Policy Abilio Barreto added, to complete the 2024 and 2025 report, SEI is holding a workshop inviting national partners and civil society to participate.
“In this situation, there’s a process of collecting data to complete the 2024 and 2025 report, the national action plan on gender based violence is almost two months away, and SEI is holding a workshop inviting national partners and civil society to think together about what mechanisms are good for contributing to developing the report that will be sent to the council of ministers and national parliament.” said Director Abilio Barreto.
The National Director of Gender Equality Policy further emphasized that the main objective isn’t just to write the report but to measure the implementation results of the National Action Plan (PAN) which is almost at its third mandate, starting from the first, second, and third phases, with measurements currently ongoing with the national action plan (PAN).
Meanwhile, the third mandate shows that almost 33% of women and girls are living with violence, indicating that gender based violence, domestic violence, and violence against women and girls in Timor Leste is still high.
Reporting : Intern Marito
Photo : Intern Marito