The Pacific Girl Inception Workshop was held from 21–25 October 2019 in Suva, Fiji. The week-long workshop comprised the following meetings:
- One-day Girls Pawa Toktok with adolescent girls from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Vanuatu.
- Two-day Partners Meeting with selected civil society organisation partners from Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu.
- The Pacific Girl Regional Learning Network meeting.
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.
Adolescent girls in the Pacific face challenges because they are girls; and they can also be discriminated against for other reasons, such as having a disability or getting pregnant. In this short video, adolescent girls from the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu talk about the issues that are important to them – such as education and climate change, the challenges they face – such as violence in their homes and cyber bullying, and the strategies they believe will work to empower adolescent girls in the region.
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.
This paper supports the case for a transformative goal on gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment. The case for a stand-alone gender-related goal, as well as addressing gender priorities into each goal, has been actively supported by Pacific Leaders and the women’s movement. The importance of a standalone goal in post-2015 development agenda was evident at the 12th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women held 2013.
Climate change is a real and growing threat to livelihoods, cultures, ecosystems and lives in the Pacific region. Gender and climate change are closely linked issues. Women, girls, boys, and men have different roles and responsibilities within their families and communities. As a result, each of these groups is differently affected by, and has different abilities to adapt to, the effects of climate change; and has different skills and knowledge to contribute.
Pacific Islands Forum Leaders have acknowledged the importance of gender equality through the Pacific Plan and in various Forum Communiqués. The purpose of this brief is to draw the attention of Pacific delegates attending the Rio +20 conference to the importance of gender equality and to ensure contributions to the global sustainable development agenda and negotiations take into consideration gender equality commitments made at the regional and international levels.
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.
This publication brings together the perspectives of women involved in the Leitana Nehan Women’s Development Agency of Bougainville, Vois Blong Mere Solomon of Solomon Islands and Ma’a Fafine mo e Famili of Tonga. Women in these groups are active in peace building and service in many spheres of their communities, connected through FemLINKPACIFIC’s Pacific Women’s Media and Policy Network on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (Women, Peace and Security).
The Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS) State of Media and Communication Study is designed to provide baseline measures on the key evaluation questions developed by PACMAS across four components:
- Media Policy and Legislation.
- Media and Communication Systems.
- Media Capacity Building.
- Media Content.
This report explores these four components through six strategic PACMAS activities:
- Technical and Vocational Education and Training.
- Pacific Emergency Broadcasting Systems.
- Pacific Communication Technicians.
The Fiji Young Women’s’ Forum convened by Diverse Voices and Action for Equality (DIVA), Emerging Leaders Forum Alumni, Young Women Producers and Broadcasters - FemLINKpacific and the Young Women’s Christian Association, brought together young women leaders and activists aged 18 – 30 years from Fiji to discuss barriers and strategies to young women’s meaningful participation and representation in Fiji’s democratisation process.
This literature review synthesises material from the books, academic articles, and reports listed in the attached annotated bibliography on Pacific Island women and agriculture. Information has been grouped into the following topics:
- Pacific Island women and agriculture.
- Agriculture in Pacific Island social contexts.
- Challenges faced by women in Pacific Island agriculture.
- Pacific Island women in agriculture: Some recommendations.