This brief provides examples of gender transformative changes achieved by initiatives in Papua New Guinea. It describes practical, proven approaches for gender-transformative change and highlights the importance of:
- Program design explicit in its aim to reshape gender norms and power relations.
- Working in partnership with organisations and community groups to create change.
- Drawing on community strengths, customs and practices.
- Clearly aligning activities to support government policy commitments and strengthen government systems.
This report summarises the workshop approach, objectives, key learning outcomes and participant recommendations of the third Pacific Women and Fiji Women’s Fund Fiji Annual Reflection and Planning Workshop.
The primary objectives of the workshop were for participants to:
- Reflect on overall progress in advancing gender equality at various levels.
- Share experiences and lessons learned in promoting women’s economic empowerment, enhancing women’s leadership opportunities and capabilities, ending violence against women and coalition building.
The fifth Pacific Women in Papua New Guinea Annual Learning Workshop offered an opportunity for Pacific Women-funded and non-funded partners to come together to discuss their work and research and to share lessons about what is working, the challenges, and the opportunities for promoting gender equality in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific.
This report summarises the workshop approach, objectives, key learning outcomes and participant recommendations of the third Pacific Women and Fiji Women’s Fund Fiji Annual Reflection and Planning Workshop.
The workshop objectives were to:
- Enable Fiji Government, civil society and stakeholders to reflect on overall progress and key issues to advance gender equality in Fiji.
- Update grantees of the Fund on findings from its six-monthly report analysis.
The fourth Pacific Women in Papua New Guinea Annual Learning Workshop provided an update on activities, research, innovation, and good practice undertaken by Pacific Women and its partners in 2017-2018 in the areas of:
- Increasing women’s leadership and decision making.
- Increasing economic opportunities for women.
- Reducing violence against women and expanding support services.
Two ‘Do No Harm’ guidance material kits have been developed by a team from the International Women’s Development Agency. The kits draw on key findings from the Do No Harm research project, conducted by the Australian National University in Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.
The Do No Harm research explored the relationship between economic inclusion and empowerment programs, and violence against women. The key lessons learned from the research were that:
- Working with men is necessary.
This paper draws on research undertaken in 2015 among coffee smallholders in Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea, focusing specifically on some of the challenges faced by women coffee farmers in accessing financial services.
The research was a collaboration between the Department of Pacific Affairs (formerly the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program) at the Australian National University and the Coffee Industry Support Project of CARE International in Papua New Guinea.
This paper reports on research that found that increasing women’s savings or income does not necessarily lead to greater bargaining power within the household in Papua New Guinea. For women, the choice to escape violent relationships is constrained by gender norms and social customs such as bride price, custody of children and access to land, which limit their ability to live independently.
Poverty data in Fiji is derived from household income and expenditure data, collected via periodic Household Income and Expenditure Surveys. Given gender inequality within households can be significant, assessing individual poverty by using household data and then assuming all household members have the same access to resources and opportunities is problematic. Household-level measurement also means accurate disaggregation of data is impossible. This makes the work of policy makers and advocates harder, masking differences rather than revealing them so they can be addressed.
This short paper draws on research undertaken in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in 2015. It specifically explored the relationship
between women’s economic empowerment and violence
against women through in-depth qualitative interviews.
Interviewees included business women in the urban context
of Arawa (Kieta District) and rural women involved in informal
marketing and alluvial mining (Panguna District) and in
informal marketing and cocoa farming (Tinputz District).
Numerous studies show obvious links between alcohol abuse and violence in Melanesia. In Papua New Guinea, alcohol is incorporated into sociality involving gift exchange and distribution practices associated with the ‘big man’ culture.
This checklist proposes actions in five specific areas:
- Learn from women’s experience and support their leadership.
- Develop and implement gender-sensitive responses to COVID-19.
- Support women’ economic security.
- Prioritise support to domestic violence survivors.
- Ensure continued access to health services.
The Pacific Women Advisory Group on Research is comprised of specialists in gender research expertise who have interest in the Pacific region including representatives of research institutions, development partners, civil society organisations, regional organisations, governments that are engaging in gender research as well as individual research practitioners. Guided by the Research Strategy, the Advisory Group provides advice to Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on the strategic direction of the Pacific Women research program.
This research resource document provides guidance on how to best measure women’s and girls’ empowerment in impact evaluations, based on the experiences of J-PAL affiliated researchers around the world. This research resource document offers practical tips for measuring women’s and girls’ empowerment in impact evaluations. It is designed to support the work of monitoring and evaluation practitioners, researchers, and students.
This annual report notes that the eyes of the world were focused on Samoa and the wider region for the Small Islands Developing States Conference and UN Women’s Executive Director, Phumzile Mlambo Nguka’s first visit to the Pacific.
Highlights from the year included:
- The launch of UN Women’s Markets for Change project.
- A highly visible 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence campaign.
The Revised Pacific Platform For Action is a regional charter developed and agreed to by representatives from all Pacific Island countries and territories. It has four strategic themes:
- Mechanisms to promote the advancement of women.
- Women’s legal and human rights.
- Women’s access to services.
- Economic empowerment of women.
Health pandemics have specific and severe impacts on the lives of women and girls. Since the COVID-19 outbreak first had reported cases, the gendered impacts began being documented in the Pacific and across the world. Women and girls are disproportionately impacted by crises. Existing gender inequalities are exacerbated during a crisis, with the result that women and girls face even higher rates of violence, sexual abuse and control from their husbands, partners and families.
This review involved a desk review of policies and project documents and consultations with Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility (PRIF) agency representatives and staff from other agencies working in the Pacific. It:
- Collates information about how gender concerns are considered and managed in PRIF Infrastructure programs.
- Identifies areas of good practice.
- Identifies lessons to enhance gender-responsive planning and management in Pacific infrastructure projects.
This study deals with research on eight critical areas of concern covered in the Revised Pacific Platform for Action 2005-2015: education, health, climate change and environment, economic empowerment, gender mainstreaming, leadership and decision-making, violence against women and human rights.
While gender research on each issue exists in one way or another in the Pacific, there are many unknowns as to the scope, nature, and quality of this research. This study therefore:
- Maps and provides a gap analysis of existing gender research in the eight thematic areas.
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: