The Kiribati study shows that violence against women is prevalent:
- More than 2 in 3 (68%) ever-partnered women aged 15–49 reported experiencing physical or sexual violence, or both, by an intimate partner.
- 47% of women aged 15–49 who had ever been in a relationship reported experiencing emotional abuse by a partner at least once. Almost 1 in 3 women (30%) experienced emotional abuse in the 12 months prior to the interview.
The project aims to add content to the international legal principle of due diligence in the context of state responsibility to end violence against women. It seeks to create compliance indicators that are concrete and measurable across regions. The project examines four questions:
- What is generally understood to be the content of the due diligence principle - by governments, civil society advocates, and international legal scholars and experts working on violence against women?
This review looks at major trends in spending (comparing women and men), the chief barriers to women having more income and control of their finances, and the key opportunities for programs to address economic empowerment of women at household and community levels.
The Tongan study shows that violence against women is prevalent:
- 79% of Tongan women and girls have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.
- 68% of Tongan women and girls are affected by physical violence perpetrated by mainly their fathers or teachers.
- 33% of married or ever partnered women are victims of physical violence.
- 17% of married or ever partnered women are victims of sexual violence.
- 24% of married or ever partnered women are subject to emotional violence.
The Vanuatu study shows that violence against women is prevalent:
- Among women who have ever had an intimate sexual relationship with a partner, 60% experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime; 68% experienced emotional violence; 28% were subjected to several forms of control by their partner, 69% experienced at least one form of coercive control, and most of these were living with physical and sexual violence.
This short paper identifies four central insights from a legal positive perspective into killings related to sorcery and witchcraft accusations:
- The belief in sorcery and witchcraft is a significant cause of fear and insecurity in Melanesia, as most deaths, sickness and other misfortunes are attributed to the malevolent powers of sorcerers and witches, meaning that people are always on guard against such attacks.
This short paper looks at how the terms ‘sorcery’ and ‘witchcraft’ are frequently fused or used interchangeably, and are rarely conceptually distinguished. This blurring of the two occurs not only in popular accounts in the media but is widely reproduced by NGOs, donor organisations, and government institutions. A new acronym has even been coined SRK (‘sorcery-related killing’) that perpetuates the definitional lack of clarity, since it uses one term, sorcery, to refer to both sorcery and witchcraft.
The Samoan study shows that violence against women is prevalent:
- 37.6% of women who have ever been in a relationship are likely to have experienced physical abuse by their partner.
- 18.6% of women are likely to have experienced emotional abuse by their partner.
- 19.6% of women are likely to have experienced sexual abuse by their partner.
- Of women have experienced physical abuse by their partner, 23.8% had been punched, kicked or beaten while they were pregnant.
In Papua New Guinea, it is primarily through being ‘good’ wives, mothers and household managers that women become valued. This situation can leave young women and those who do not become wives and mothers with limited options for gaining respect and a voice, while potentially also constraining the opportunities for women to participate in other spheres.
This report provides findings from a study conducted with men in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Papua New Guinea on their use of violence against women. The study questioned 10,000 men in nine sites in Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Papua New Guinea. Men were asked about their use and experiences of violence, gendered attitudes and practices, childhood, sexuality, family life and health.
This literature review identifies assumptions underpinning key questions relating to the appropriateness of donor assistance to activities and programs designed to support democratic governance in East Timor, Fiji, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. The extract commences with a discussion of some underpinning themes and then moves to particular issues relating to the promotion of women into political leadership. The review concludes with a full bibliography of sources used.
This short paper looks at the example of women parliamentarians in Kiribati and Samoa to identify common characteristics of women who have been successful at being elected:
- Coming from a large and influential family provides an important ‘base vote’, willing campaign helpers, and potential financiers. Women MPs also tend to come from political families. That is, one or both of their parents, uncles or brothers have tended to have been in politics and they often act as patrons and mentors.
Lessons from the UNFPA’s process of conducting researching violence against women in Kiribati and Solomon Islands included:
- There is overwhelming evidence that the studies in the Solomon Islands and Kiribati were generally been carried out appropriately and effectively.
- There is an overriding sense of achievement, all field workers came back safely and intact, a phenomenal job was done and an enormous amount of data was collected with high response rates and disclosure rates.
Similarities across the situation analyses in Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Tonga include:
- Women with disabilities make significant contributions to their communities. However, while they have similar talents, skills and experience as other women, they may be more often underrecognised and have fewer opportunities.
- Each country has a committed and active disabled persons organisation and a family health association that are in a good position to increase their focus on disability and sexuality.
Outside of national politics, Pacific women are often visible as leaders. The study found that Pacific women from places as far afield as Bougainville and Samoa are leaders in diverse fields including local government, civil service, private business, and civil society.
Lal N. 2021. Imports of rice and wheat flour in selected Pacific Island countries and territories. Noumea, New Caledonia: Pacific Community. 20 p.
Saville P. 1996. The animal health status of Kiribati. Noumea, New Caledonia: South Pacific Commission. v, 10 p.
Allwood A.J. 2000. Fruit flies in Vanuatu. Suva, Fiji: Secretariat of the Pacific Community. 4 p.
Opening Doors for Lasting Change – Gender Transformation in Practice – sharing programming approaches that have led to gender transformative change in Papua New Guinea, to inform policy, action and practice to include principles of gender transformation. There is also a detailed video slideshow that highlights key gender transformative approaches and examples, as outlined in the Pacific Practice Note.
Positive gender transformative change is not only possible, it is happening in Papua New Guinea.
This is detailed in the ‘What Works for Gender Transformative Approaches in Papua New Guinea' report.