Understanding Gender Inequality Actions in the Pacific
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UNDERSTANDING GENDER INEQUALITY ACTIONS IN THE PACIFIC Ethnographic Case-studies and Policy Options Tony Crook, Sue Farran & Emilie Röell with contributions from co-investigators DEVCO ADM-MULTI/2014/353-796 University of St Andrews Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union. Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) The information given is free, as are most calls (though some operators, phone boxes or hotels may charge you). More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu). Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2016 ISBN 978-92-79-58218-9 doi: 10.2761/46982 © European Union, 2016 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. For any use or reproduction of individual photographs, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holder. Printed in Luxembourg PRINTED ON WHITE CHLORINE-FREE PAPER Ethnographic Case-studies and Policy Options 1 UNDERSTANDING GENDER INEQUALITY ACTIONS IN THE PACIFIC Ethnographic Case-studies and Policy Options Tony Crook, Sue Farran & Emilie Röell with contributions from co-investigators Understanding Gender Inequality Actions in the Pacific: Ethnographic Case-Studies & Policy Options DEVCO ADM-MULTI/2014/353-796 - University of St Andrews 2 Understanding Gender Inequality Actions in the Pacific Understanding Gender Inequality in the Pacific: Ethnographic Case Studies and Policy Options Scope Countries/Region Pacific Island Countries in Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Palau, Samoa and Tuvalu Contract No. DEVCO ADM-MULTI/2014/353-796 Date: October 2016 Members of the team The Principal Investigator is: Dr Tony Crook, Director, Centre for Pacific Studies, University of St Andrews The Co-Investigators are: Ms Ramona Boodoosingh, Centre for Samoan Studies, National University of Samoa Professor Annelin Eriksen, Bergen Pacific Studies Research Group, University of Bergen Professor Sue Farran, Law School, University of Northumbria (& University of the South Pacific) Dr Fiona Hukula, National Research Institute of Papua New Guinea Dr Simon Kenema, Centre for Pacific Studies, University of St Andrews Dr Lynda Newland, Centre for Pacific Studies, University of St Andrews (& University of the South Pacific) Ms Angelina Penner, Bergen Pacific Studies Research Group, University of Bergen Mr Galumalemana Steven Percival, Centre for Samoan Studies, National University of Samoa Assistant Professor, Dr Manuel Rauchholz, Institute of Anthropology, University of Heidelberg Ms Emilie Roëll, Development Consultant Associate Professor Penelope Schoeffel, Centre for Samoan Studies, National University of Samoa Ms Tammy Tabe, Bergen Pacific Studies Research Group, University of Bergen Disclaimer The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of ECOPAS and should not in any circumstances be considered to reflect the position of the European Union. Maps and Photography The authors wish to express their gratitude to the Center for Pacific Islands Studies, University of Hawai‘i–Mānoa for copyright permission to use the South Pacific Islands map throughout the publication. All other images are by the authors of this report, and are reproduced with their copyright permission. Ethnographic Case-studies and Policy Options 3 Contents List of Acronyms and Abbreviations 4 Executive Summary 6 Introduction 12 1. Overviews of Gender Inequality in the Pacific 24 Pacific context and concerns 24 Contemporary indicators of gender inequality in the Pacific 25 International and national legal frameworks 31 International partner initiatives 35 The EU Legal Framework for Gender Equality 38 EU gender-focused cooperation actions in the Pacific 2010 - 2015 44 2. Pacific Island Country Reports: 52 Fiji 53 Kiribati 73 Micronesia 89 Papua New Guinea 108 Samoa 125 Solomon Islands 140 Tuvalu 157 Vanuatu 172 3. Recommendations arising from the research: 192 Implementing GAP 2016-2020 in the Pacific 193 Summary of Research Findings & Options for Action by Country 201 Summary of Research Findings & Options for Action by Region 208 Appendix 1: ACP Women 211 Appendix 2: ECOPAS 212 Appendix 3: Research Team 214 Documents consulted 216 4 Understanding Gender Inequality Actions in the Pacific List of Acronyms and Abbreviations ACP Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Group AOSIS Alliance of Small Island States AP Annual Plan ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations CEDAW Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women CSP Country Strategy Paper CROP Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific CSO-LA Civil Society Organisations and Local Authorities DEVCO Directorate-General EuropeAid Development & Cooperation DFAT Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia) EEAS European External Action Service EAMR External Assistance Management Rapport EC The European Commission EDF European Development Fund ECOPAS European Consortium for Pacific Studies EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone EPA Economic Partnership Agreement EIDHR European Instrument for Human Rights and Democracy EU The European Union EVAW Eliminating Violence Against Women FAO Food and Agricultural Organisation FIC Forum Island Countries FWCC Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre FWRM Fiji Women’s Rights Movement FSM Federated States of Micronesia GAP Gender Action Plan GBV Gender Based Violence GCCA Global Climate Change Alliance GDP Gross Domestic Product GEWE Gender Equity and Women’s Development GFP Gender Focal Point HQ Head Quarters IcSP Instrument for Stability and Peace KFHSS Kiribati Family, Health and Support Survey LDC Least Developed Countries LMC Lower Middle Income Countries Ethnographic Case-studies and Policy Options 5 MCES The Micronesian Chief Executives’ Summit MDGs Millennium Development Goals MFF Multiannual Financial Framework MIP Multiannual Indicative Programme MP Member of Parliament MSG Melanesian Spearhead Group MTR Mid Term Review NGO Non-Governmental Organisation NIP National Indicative Programme OCT Overseas Countries and Territories ODA Overseas Development Assistance ODI Overseas Development Institute PACP Pacific ACP countries PCD Policy Coherence for Development PICTs Pacific Islands Countries and Territories PIF Pacific Islands Forum PIFS Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat PNG Papua New Guinea PPDVP Pacific Prevention of Domestic Violence Programme PRIP Pacific Regional Indicative Programme PSIDS Pacific Small Island Development States PIDF Pacific Islands Development Forum RAMSI Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands RAO Regional Authorizing Officer RIP Regional Indicative Programme RMI Republic of Marshall Islands SDG Sustainable Development Goals RSP Regional Strategy Paper SIDS Small Islands Developing States SPC Secretariat of the Pacific Community STI Sexually Transmitted Infection TOR Terms of Reference UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNFPA United Nations Population Fund UPR Universal Periodic Review USP University of the South Pacific VAW Violence Against Women VWC/S Vanuatu Women’s Centre WCT Women Candidate Training WHO World Health Organisation WTO World Trade Organisation 6 Understanding Gender Inequality Actions in the Pacific EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The prevalence of violence against women in the Pacific region is among the highest in the world. Countries across the Pacific region have put in place policy strategies, legal frameworks and a raft of initiatives, but against their own and internationally accepted indicators there has been poor progress towards gender equality, despite the development cooperation efforts of many donors over several decades. What are the cultural contexts shaping the contemporary situation? Why is the current paradigm underpinning gender policy apparently ineffective in grasping the social actions that produce gender inequality in the Pacific? This report presents the findings of an ethnographic pilot research project into a range of gender inequality issues in the Pacific - discrimination, violence, exploitation, representation - with particular focus on gender violence and women’s presence in political and economic contexts. Project members include anthropologists, gender and development specialists, legal scholars and a film-maker who conducted case-studies in ten countries across all three regions of the Pacific - Melanesia (Fiji, PNG, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu), Micronesia (FSM, Kiribati, Marshall Islands and Palau) and Polynesia (Samoa and Tuvalu). Researchers were given a free hand to work in their own conceptual register rather than within the confines of received terms and a defined framework, and for the first time in the long-experience of many team members to have an opportunity to work with and through Pacific people’s own concepts, relations, values and analyses of what is a stake in the cultural dynamics and social relations through which the everyday actions of gender inequality are produced. We believe that the research findings we report here bear out and justify the EU’s vision and confidence in commissioning this study. We follow retired PNG Minister, Dame Carol Kidu, in culturally contextualising gender inequality as ‘an issue to do with the whole community and the family’, asking questions about ‘how we can address rights-based issues within a communal society’, and focusing on Pacific people’s ‘own capacity to resolve things, in perhaps unusual ways’. This creates a space to vividly illustrate and foreground