The Pacific Women Regional Learning Forum on Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) aimed to:
- Contribute to and build Pacific understanding and knowledge of women’s economic empowerment and approaches.
- Build on regional research, practitioner expertise and the experiences of women in the region to adapt and improve the Pacific Women approach to WEE.
- Strengthen relationships between development partners working on WEE and catalyse increased communication and more coordinated action.
Pacific Women program activities support the Bougainville Gender Investment Plan, which prioritises the following objectives:
- Reducing family and sexual violence and assist survivors of violence.
- Strengthen women’s leadership.
- Improve women’s economic opportunities.
This report includes the following highlights:
The State, Society and Governance in Melanesia program at the Australian National University and the International Women’s Development Agency undertook the Do No Harm research project in Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea to understand whether and in what ways economic inclusion and empowerment initiatives affect women’s experience of violence.