<div dir="ltr"><div>FYI</div><div><br></div><div>Regards</div><div><br></div><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Pacific Women</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:shazia.usman@pacificwomen.org.fj">shazia.usman@pacificwomen.org.fj</a>></span><br>Date: Wed, May 31, 2017 at 2:26 PM<br>Subject: Pacific Women Newsletter<br>To: <a href="mailto:savinafnongebatu@gmail.com">savinafnongebatu@gmail.com</a><br><br><br><u></u>
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<div style="color:#505050;font-family:Georgia,Times,'Times New Roman',serif;font-size:11px;line-height:150%;text-align:left"><span style="font-family:georgia,times,times new roman,serif"><strong>Issue 12 - May 2017</strong></span><br>
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<span style="font-family:georgia,times,times new roman,serif"><span style="font-size:11px">Delivered quarterly,<em> Pacific Women </em>E-News provides readers with information and updates on <a style="color:#336699;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" href="http://pacificwomen.us3.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=78c103e9b7043e7f0bea624eb&id=2c70e4c6d6&e=f35d9216c3" target="_blank">Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development </a>- an Australian Government program focused on improving gender equality and women's empowerment across the Pacific. </span></span>Catch up on what you missed in the last edition of<em> Pacific Women </em>E-News <a style="color:#336699;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" href="http://pacificwomen.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=78c103e9b7043e7f0bea624eb&id=ab787c0c00&e=f35d9216c3" target="_blank">here</a>. <br>
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<strong>Femili PNG and Business Coalition for Women Form Partnership</strong><br>
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<em>L-R: Ms Lesieli Taviri, Business Coalition for Women Chairperson and Ms Denga Ilave, Femili PNG Operations Manager, with the signed Memorandum of Understanding. Photo: Femili PNG.</em><br>
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Two <em>Pacific Women</em> partners in Papua New Guinea have formed a partnership to address family and sexual violence in Lae. The Business Coalition for Women (BCFW), which provides tools and resources for its member businesses to help drive women’s participation and promotion within the private sector as a good business strategy, will make the support services offered by Femili PNG accessible to more working women and men in Lae. Services will also be available to those employed by BCFW member companies. The partnership, launched on 8 February with a Memorandum of Understanding, envisions to increase the reach and scope of services offered by Femili PNG to anyone affected by family and sexual violence in the Lae community.<br>
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Ms Lesieli Taviri, BCFW Chairperson and Origin Energy’s Chief Executive Officer, and Ms Denga Illave, Femili PNG Operations Manager, both spoke before signing the MOU.<br>
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<em>“More than a third of the BCFW’s member businesses are headquartered or have operations in Lae, PNG’s very important industrial hub,”</em> said Ms Taviri.<br>
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<em> “We are looking forward to this partnership, not only so we can support business employees who are affected by family and sexual violence, but also so that we can build support for our work among the private sector, to help us to become a more financially sustainable NGO,”</em> said Ms Illave.<br>
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<em>Article excerpted from an extended version written by <a style="color:#336699;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" href="http://pacificwomen.us3.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=78c103e9b7043e7f0bea624eb&id=4edc1899f8&e=f35d9216c3" target="_blank">Femili PNG</a>. </em><br>
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<em>The BCFW was launched in 2014, in response to demand from the PNG private sector, with the aim to help businesses create, share, and implement good practices to drive women’s economic participation and to promote gender equality as a smart business strategy in Papua New Guinea. For more about BCFW visit their <a style="color:#336699;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" href="http://pacificwomen.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=78c103e9b7043e7f0bea624eb&id=af09cbe8d2&e=f35d9216c3" target="_blank">website</a>. </em><br>
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<strong>Tuvalu Celebrates International Women’s Day </strong><br>
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<em>Representatives from the Attorney General’s Office, People’s Lawyer, the church, police and the Gender Affairs Department discuss the high rates of violence against women during a talk back radio show on IWD. Photo: Gender Affairs Department.</em><br>
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Women make important contributions to the development of Tuvalu. <br>
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This was acknowledged by the Hon Enele Sopoaga, the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, during his opening address on International Women Day’s (IWD), 8 March.<br>
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Speaking to fellow Cabinet Ministers, government officials, women leaders from outer islands, NGOs, youth and representatives from the disability community, Hon Sopoaga emphasised the need to look at women’s contributions as beyond that of a caretaker. The countless efforts women make for their country, he said, often remains <em>“unseen”</em> and is deemed <em>“informal</em>”.<br>
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Organised by the Gender Affairs Department (GAD) with support from the Tuvalu National Council of Women, <em>Pacific Women</em> and the Pacific Community’s Regional Rights Resource Team, the event was part of a series of activities organised to mark the day around the theme, <em>Women in the Changing World of Work</em>.<br>
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For their role in ensuring social and food security and contributions to the economy, two women from each island were awarded the Women of the Year Award, with $100 prize money, by the First Lady at the official opening. This was followed by women leaders from the business sector, politics and community sharing their stories of change and success on stage. To ensure their stories reached a wide audience, the event was simulcast over the radio. <br>
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GAD also organised a live radio talk back show with a free line for the public to call and ask questions on domestic violence. Representatives from the Attorney General’s Office, People’s Lawyer, the church, police and GAD were part of the talk back show, discussing the high number of cases of violence against women and answering questions from the public.<br>
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Of significance was the story of Ms Mine Pilikosi, President of <em>Fusi Alofa</em>, an NGO for persons with disabilities, who shared her story as a woman living with a disability in Tuvalu. She spoke of the challenge she faced in accessing education and services but also used the platform to highlight her achievements. The sharing of Ms Pilikosi's story was timely as a study focusing on persons with disability is underway in Tuvalu. Supported under the <em>Pacific Women</em> Tuvalu Country Plan, the study will collect information about the experiences of persons with disabilities and their carers and will include an examination of the barriers they face in their everyday life - including physical, communication, attitudinal and institutional. <br>
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During the day, an information session promoting women’s entrepreneurship, financial literacy and access to loans was delivered by the Tuvalu Business Centre. The day’s program ended with a Night Market, where women could sell their wares and get a free health check by a health team. This was welcomed by women attending the event from outer islands who often face service accessibility issues.<br>
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<em>Article prepared with support from Ms Natalie Makhoul and the Tuvalu Gender Affairs Department. </em><br>
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<strong>Women in Fisheries Network–Fiji Hosts Key Stakeholders</strong><br>
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<em>A young woman (left) representing the district of Korolevuiwai shares about her work at the forum. Photo: Women in Fisheries Network–Fiji. </em><br>
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Women in Fisheries Network–Fiji (WiFNetwork–Fiji), in partnership with the Fiji Locally Managed Marine Areas Network, Fiji Ministry of Fisheries and Forests and the Wildlife Conservation Society, held an information-sharing forum for key stakeholders on 8 March 2017 in Suva.<br>
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The forum provided an opportunity for stakeholders, including representatives from government, conservation practitioners, civil society organisations and fishing communities to discuss the latest science, management, development and policy work focused on women in the fisheries sector. It was also an important space for networking between stakeholders and practitioners to share innovative practices and forge partnerships to help address issues faced by fisherwomen. <br>
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Women from the provinces of Ba, Nadroga, Naitasiri, Namosi, Ra, Serua and Tailevu attended the day-long forum and found discussions beneficial in relation to better understanding the industry needs and priorities and sharing about their work. Ms Koleta Marama, a participant at the forum from Namosi said: <em>“women can be good agents of change in the community with the drive towards sustainable development”.</em><br>
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The forum was the first of its kind held by the WiFNetwork–Fiji. Ms Loata Leweniqila, Coordinator of WiFNetwork–Fiji said the forum: “<em>highlighted what gaps need to be addressed to better support women in the fisheries sector. The way forward for the Network would include a baseline study on women’s activity</em> [in the fisheries sector], <em>data needed for comparable figures on studies that have been conducted, mapping to avoid duplication of development work, legal education, storage for quality and business innovation”.</em><br>
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Presentations focused on gender and development, capacity building initiatives, strategies for connecting women to seafood supply chains, importance of collaboration for business, value chain analysis of <em>kai</em> and mud crab fisheries and the impact of Cyclone Winston on women and industry.<br>
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Ms Margaret Fox of the Wildlife Conservation Society said: <em>“it is important to understand the relationship between buyers, suppliers and </em>[the] <em>range of market actors in between”,</em> adding that <em>“value chain analysis helps you identify the constraints to industry growth and competitiveness, and look for opportunities to upgrading the chain”.</em><br>
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<em>Pacific Women</em> has supported WiFNetwork–Fiji since 2015 in building its network and developing its strategic plan for the next four years.<br>
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<em>Article prepared with support from WiFNetwork–Fiji. </em>
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<div style="color:#505050;font-family:Georgia,Times,'Times New Roman',serif;font-size:11px;line-height:150%;text-align:left"><strong>First Highlands Regional Women’s Forum</strong><br>
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<div style="color:#505050;font-family:Georgia,Times,'Times New Roman',serif;font-size:11px;line-height:150%;text-align:left"><em>Dr Sharman Stone (middle), the Australian Ambassador for Women and Girls, with participants of the Papua New Guinea Women's Forum. Photo: DFAT, PNG Post. </em><br>
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<div style="color:#505050;font-family:Georgia,Times,'Times New Roman',serif;font-size:11px;line-height:150%;text-align:left">The first Highlands Regional Forum was held at the University of Goroka, Papua New Guinea, on 7-8 February. This regional forum was held following requests from women across the nation to extend the annual Women’s Forum beyond Port Moresby.<br>
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Around 400 women and 100 men attended the Forum themed <em>Strongim Toktok Bilong Yumi Wantaim </em>(Strengthening Our Voices Together). The first day focused on leadership and politics with the aim of strengthening the ‘power of our voices’. Discussions on the second day were focused on working towards women’s economic empowerment.<br>
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The recently appointed Australian Ambassador for Women and Girls, Dr Sharman Stone attended the Forum on her first international trip as Ambassador. Dr Stone shared her experiences with Papua New Guinean women leaders at the Forum, reaffirming Australia’s partnership with Papua New Guinea to improve the lives of women and girls in the country.<br>
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The Women’s Forum has been an annual event since 2014 and is managed and co-hosted by the United States Embassy and Tribal Foundation, working with the Department for Community Development and Religion. Participants were appreciative of the opportunity to have women in leadership roles across the different spheres of government, public service, private sector, community and churches, and men supportive of gender equality to meet, network and learn from each other.<br>
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<em>Pacific Women</em> has supported the event for the past two years through financial and logistical support. Other key sponsors in 2017 were ExxonMobil and Oil Search Limited.</div>
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<strong>Ra Naari Parishad – An Important Hub for the Women of Rakiraki</strong><br>
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<em>Members of the Sangeeta Women's Club - one of the small community women’s clubs part of the Ra Naari Parishad membership. According to members, the organisation has been instrumental in supporting them throughout the years. Photo: Shazia Usman, Pacific Women Support Unit. </em><br>
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<em>“It’s very important that we support those who are less privileged in our communities to grow. We have many dreams for the people of Rakiraki and we are working towards achieving them together.”</em><br>
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These are the words of Ms Anand Pillay, the visionary President of the Ra Naari Parishad, a local women’s community organisation, operating in Rakiraki in Fiji since 1989. <br>
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Through the organisation, 10 families in Raravatu, a rural settlement in Rakiraki, now have access to potable water.<br>
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<em>“The water supply there is now enough for household chores, gardening, animals. A day after the opening, many from Raravatu called me and said that they had water in their kitchens, washrooms, tanks were full, and after many weeks they had a good shower. No more carrying of water from distances,”</em> shared Ms Pillay. Ra Naari Parishad was supported by the Australian Government’s Fiji Community Development Program (FCDP) to undertake this project.<br>
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Recently the organisation also supported another settlement, Nauto near Rakiraki town, with beekeeping training and supplying them with hives.<br>
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<em>“The closure of the sugar mill hit the farmers and the economy of Ra pretty hard. In future bee farming could be one of the major income generating activities here. One part of the Nauto settlement we supported is doing very well as they were very fortunate their hives were not destroyed during Cyclone Winston last year. They have had two harvests since the training and the money they earn is supplementing their livelihood. It’s so heartening to see women and men working together to sustain themselves. There is so much difference in the women you can see after the training. They used to stay at home before and not engage in things outside but they now attend trainings, take part in meetings and talk with visitors coming to their farm,”</em> shared Ms Pillay.<br>
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Another success story crediting the Ra Naari Parishad for being the incubator of inspiration, is that of Ms Josephine Mani, who in 2006 went from receiving training in beekeeping through the organisation’s support with a group of women, to slowly and steadily building her own successful business over the years, harvesting around 700kg of honey annually.<br>
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<em>“If I was alone, I would never have started this. I have learned a lot of things being part of the organisation, like communication and networking. I used to be at home before and if I wasn't part of Ra Naari Parishad I would never met all the people I now know, especially all the business people part of the Ra community.”</em><br>
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Such is the power of local community-based organisations like the Ra Naari Parishad in supporting the economic empowerment, leadership and involvement of women in decision making.<br>
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In 2016, <em>Pacific Women</em> supported the organisation in setting up an office. According to Ms Pillay, this support was very important for the organisation to progress its work.<br>
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<em>“I’m proud that we have space of our own. The office also serves as an information center for both women and men,”</em> she said. The office was officially opened in 2016 by Senator the Hon Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, who was joined by Hon Rosy Akbar, then Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation.<br>
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Prior to having their own office, the organisation faced challenges in holding meetings, mobilising women for events and trainings, writing reports and storing information and data in a central and safe place. Meetings were previously held at Ms Pillay’s residence.<br>
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The organisation has three fulltime staff and an executive management board, which includes prominent members of Ra’s business and legal community. Several small community women’s clubs are part of the Ra Naari Parishad membership. According to members, the organisation has been instrumental in supporting them throughout the years, whether it’s providing information and conducting training or simply supporting them in completing forms for grants.<br>
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<strong>PNG Celebrates Successes at Annual Partner Workshop</strong><br>
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<em>Ms Eli Webb, Program Manager with the Center for International Private Enterprise, shares at the three-day annual learning workshop. Photo: DFAT, PNG Post. </em><br>
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<em>Pacific Women</em> partners met in Port Moresby in May to reflect on progress made towards gender equality over the last twelve months and to look at research findings and experiences to improve ongoing efforts.<br>
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The three-day annual learning workshop attracted 116 participants and was opened by Mr Bruce Davis, Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea. Keynote addresses were given by Ms Lesieli Taviri, Chief Executive Officer of Origin Energy PNG Ltd and Chair of the Business Coalition for Women, and Ms Barbara Thomas, the Executive Director of The Voice Inc., a youth development organisation.<br>
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During the workshop, participants discussed research findings and ways to promote women’s economic empowerment, prevent and respond to family and sexual violence and support women to take on leadership roles. Presenters came from organisations throughout Papua New Guinea, many working with rural and remote communities, as well as Australian research institutions and partners. <br>
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The workshop also provided an opportunity to learn from a range of partner organisations - from working with men and with families to change behaviours; to working in schools, to the work of churches in promoting gender equality. <br>
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In his opening remarks, Australian High Commissioner Bruce Davis stressed the shared commitment of the Australian Government and Government of Papua New Guinea to a strong and economically dynamic Papua New Guinea. <br>
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<em>“We know that greater equality is important to greater economic development. To unlock the potential of half the population, women and girls need to be able to participate fully, freely and safely in political, economic and social life,”</em> Mr Davis said.<br>
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The workshop provided an important opportunity to network, share stories and gain useful information and to learn from each other. <br>
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Ms Mana Kakarouts, Acting Secretary Department of Community Development, Autonomous Region of Bougainville said, <em>“The conference was very informative and a learning experience for me. I found the idea of coalition very useful for strengthening networks and sharing of information.”</em><br>
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<em>“It is sometimes difficult to measure what it is that we’re doing, especially if you’re trying something new. The workshop provided an environment where we could learn from each other, share good practices and lessons. This workshop will help our program grow and improve,” </em>said Ms Mona Lonndem Endehipa, Program Manager for the Women’s Business Resource Centre.<br>
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<em>“Being part of this workshop for the first time helped to put things into the ‘big picture’, to see how other key partners are involved. The facilitation was participatory (as one of five or seven men in the workshop), I felt part of the discussion,</em>” said Mr Charles Iha, Program Manager for the CARE Coffee Industry Support Project.<br>
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<strong>Research on Menstrual Hygiene Management in Fiji</strong><br>
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There is increasing recognition that women and girls’ experiences of menstruation and menstrual hygiene practices can negatively impact on their health, education and psychosocial outcomes in low and middle-income countries. Managing menstruation effectively and with dignity can be challenging and may result in adverse consequences such as behavioural restrictions, reduced school or work attendance, or shame and embarrassment.<br>
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New research in Fiji has determined that adolescent girls and women have reasonably good access to education and information about menstruation and its hygiene management, although gaps exist within some groups.<br>
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The research found while menstruation is not a strictly taboo topic of discussion, the levels of secrecy and discretion vary according to religious and cultural background and prevailing attitudes and beliefs. It also determined that while the topic is part of the school curriculum, teachers may feel ill-equipped discussing it, and require better training to do so. Education and information on menstruation often also excludes women and girls with disabilities.<br>
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Women working in informal workplaces, such as markets face greater challenges in managing menstruation at work as they are often required to share sanitation facilities with the public. In rural and remote communities, poorer quality sanitary products are available and girls and women with less access to money faced affordability challenges. Use of re-usable cloths is common among older women and for girls in these areas.<br>
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This research is part of a three-country study underway in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands to explore the challenges experienced by women and girls in managing their menstruation, and whether these challenges make it hard for them to participate in school, work and engage with their communities.<br>
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The Burnet Institute, WaterAid Australia and the International Women’s Development Agency were commissioned by <em>Pacific Women</em> to undertake the research. In Fiji, the team collaborated with the International Planned Parenthood Federation and focused on two research sites: an urban setting in Viti Levu (Suva) and a rural setting, in Vanua Levu (Cakaudrove Province). Ninety-six people (50 women, 28 adolescent girls and 18 men) participated in the study.<br>
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Research findings were presented to stakeholders at a workshop in Fiji in March, with discussions on implementation of recommendations. Similar research and workshops are planned for Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. The full research will be available on <em>Pacific Women’s </em>website soon. A copy of the literature review can be accessed <a style="color:#336699;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" href="http://pacificwomen.us3.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=78c103e9b7043e7f0bea624eb&id=be46919b23&e=f35d9216c3" target="_blank">here</a>.<br>
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<strong>Gender and Politics Panels: Bringing ‘Thinking and Working Politically’<br>
and Gender Together </strong><br>
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<em>Pacific Women </em>and the Pacific Leadership Program (PLP) were among the voices bringing a Pacific perspective to the Australasian Aid Conference, held in Canberra in February. <a style="color:#336699;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" href="http://pacificwomen.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=78c103e9b7043e7f0bea624eb&id=c6e299a902&e=f35d9216c3" target="_blank">The conference</a>, convened by the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University, aimed to <em>“bring together researchers from across Australia, the Pacific, Asia and beyond who are working on aid and international development policy to share insights, promote collaboration, and help develop the research community." </em>The two-day conference, opened by the Hon Julie Bishop, Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, featured a number of panels, presentations and critical plenary sessions. <br>
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For the first time the annual conference featured gender equality as one of its focus areas. The Developmental Leadership Program (DLP), PLP and <em>Pacific Women </em>jointly proposed two gender and politics panels, bringing together the concept of ‘thinking and working politically’ and gender. The first panel focused on primary research undertaken on the topic, while the second explored the relationship between research and practice, drawing out some of the successes, challenges and lessons learned. On this second panel, PLP presented research on their experience in supporting developmental leaders and coalitions pursuing gender equality outcomes in the Pacific. Mr Peni Tawake, of PLP, along with Ms Rebecca Mclaren of DLP, presented case studies from Vanuatu and Solomon Islands, showing how donors can play a facilitative, rather than direct role in supporting coalitions. Their research also found that coalitions do not have to be inclusive to be effective, and that coalition membership need not be equal (Lisa Denney and Rebecca McLaren, 2016). <br>
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<em>Pacific Women </em>shared markedly different partner approaches to coalition-building. Ms Tara Chetty from the <em>Pacific Women </em>Support Unit presented in collaboration with the We Rise Coalition, made up of Diverse Voices in Action for Equality, femLINKpacific, the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement and the International Women’s Development Agency. The We Rise Coalition is an explicitly feminist partnership working across Fiji, Australia and the Pacific, to build equal feminist partnerships among the four convening organisations. For We Rise, the process and principles that guide the Coalition are just as important as the outcomes of their work. The two presentations were in conversation with each other, facilitating rich discussion on coalitions and development in the Pacific. For development practitioners and researchers outside the region, as <a style="color:#336699;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" href="http://pacificwomen.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=78c103e9b7043e7f0bea624eb&id=7e4743c768&e=f35d9216c3" target="_blank">Devpolicy</a> blogger Mr Rob Lamontagne put it, the two panels <em>"presented a fascinating set of case studies that may help not just lead the way to better aid practice, but better ways of understanding neighbour countries."</em></div>
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<strong>femLINKpacific Launches Comic Publication on Women Leaders </strong><br>
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<div style="text-align:left;color:#505050;font-family:Georgia,Times,'Times New Roman',serif;font-size:11px;line-height:150%">On International Women’s Day this year, Fiji-based feminist community media NGO, femLINKpacific celebrated women leaders and launched the fourth edition of “HeroWINS” – a locally produced comic book telling the stories of women leaders and calling for all decision making spaces to be more inclusive of women.<br>
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This edition focused on preparedness messages to support rural women leaders as first responders during disasters and recovery, drawing largely from the work femLINKpacific is doing with its women’s community media network as part of its Women’s Weather Watch campaign. This network acts as a conduit for communities and those who need to hear the reality of what is happening on the ground during disasters.<br>
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The comic publication was launched by Australian High Commissioner, Her Excellency Margaret Twomey. Ms Twomey shared her experience of visiting the Ra Province after Cyclone Winston last year and witnessing women’s efforts during recovery.<br>
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<em>“Many women said they were not really aware of what was happening before the cyclone. There wasn’t much information reaching their remote rural communities and only a few women were included in the village disaster committees that met to discuss, plan and prepare for the cyclone. Despite these barriers, women through their own networks, were actively sharing what information they had. They looked after their families and ensured that the elderly and people with disabilities were looked after, and were often the last ones to leave for an evacuation centre.”</em><br>
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She said the efforts needed to increase gender equality in disaster preparedness, response and recovery are the same efforts needed in the broader drive for greater equality.<br>
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A copy of the comic can be accessed femLINKpacific’s <a style="color:#336699;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" href="http://pacificwomen.us3.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=78c103e9b7043e7f0bea624eb&id=149d34eec9&e=f35d9216c3" target="_blank">website</a>. <br>
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<em>Photo: femLINKpacific. </em></div>
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<strong>Upcoming Events</strong><br>
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<strong>Regional Roadmap Nears Completion</strong><br>
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<em>Pacific Women</em> has developed a Roadmap to guide its future investments at the regional and multi-country level. At the bilateral level, <em>Pacific Women</em> investments are guided by <a style="color:#336699;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" href="http://pacificwomen.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=78c103e9b7043e7f0bea624eb&id=97f9fc0d59&e=f35d9216c3" target="_blank">country plans</a>, which have been developed in close consultation with local women and men, civil society organisations and national governments. <br>
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The newly developed Roadmap will:
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<li>Highlight strategic regional and multi-country mechanisms and interventions that can help eliminate harmful social norms and accelerate the achievement of gender equality;</li>
<li>Identify priority action areas of work for <em>Pacific Women</em>;</li>
<li>Provide guidance on maintaining and expanding partnerships in the region; and</li>
<li>Identify selection criteria for new regional and multi-country investments.</li>
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The overarching Roadmap is based on three Synthesis Reports, which delved deeper into <em>Pacific Women</em>’s first three intended outcomes: i) <strong>leadership and decision making,</strong> ii) <strong>women</strong><strong>’s economic empowerment</strong>, and iii) <strong>ending violence against women</strong>.<br>
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The Synthesis Reports and the Roadmap were developed through a combination of literature review, stakeholder consultations, and in-depth analysis, and supplement the foundational <br>
<em>Pacific Women</em> <a style="color:#336699;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" href="http://pacificwomen.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=78c103e9b7043e7f0bea624eb&id=ef68441aaa&e=f35d9216c3" target="_blank">Design Document</a>. The documents have already begun to guide <em>Pacific Women’s </em>work, with the <em>Pacific Women </em>Support Unit now convening a quarterly roundtable on women’s economic empowerment to follow up on relevant recommendations. <br>
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The Roadmap and Synthesis Reports have been finalised, and will be available soon on <em>Pacific Women's</em> website.<br>
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For further information, please contact the <em>Pacific Women</em> Support Unit: <br>
<a style="color:#336699;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" href="mailto:info@pacificwomen.org" target="_blank">info@pacificwomen.org</a><br>
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<strong>Kiribati: Women’s Economic Empowerment Feasibility Study</strong><br>
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<em>Pacific Women</em> is supporting a comprehensive study on women’s economic empowerment in Kiribati. Commencing in June, the study will examine viable economic empowerment options for women in the country; approaches to prevent the double burden of care and work for women; and strategies to respond to women’s perceived low income control and lack of decision making autonomy within households. The study will inform future policy and programming on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment in Kiribati and is expected to be completed by August.
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<strong>Latest Updates</strong><br>
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<strong><em>Pacific Women</em> Program Management Committee Discusses Progress</strong><br>
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<em>Pacific Women’s</em> Program Management Committee (PMC) held its third meeting in Suva on 20 February. <br>
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The PMC oversees the governance and strategic direction of the program and comprises the DFAT Management Team led by Ms Tracey Newbury, Program Director based in Canberra, and Ms Suzanne Bent, Program Manager based at the Australian High Commission in Suva. Members also include the Team Leader and Deputy Team Leader of the <em>Pacific Women</em> Support Unit, a representative of DFAT aid program staff from Pacific Posts and a member of the <em>Pacific Women</em> Advisory Board. The DFAT Post and Advisory Board representatives are nominated on a rotational basis.<br>
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Mrs Merilyn Tahi, the Coordinator of the Vanuatu Women’s Centre attended the meeting as the Advisory Board’s nominee for 2017. She replaces Ms Natalia Latu from the Ministry of Finance in Tonga. <br>
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Progress discussed by the PMC included: key regional program evaluations and the Year 3 Program Evaluation of <em>Pacific Women</em>; developments in <em>Pacific Women’s</em> Knowledge Management System; the country plan review process in Cook Islands, Fiji, and Solomon Islands and upcoming reviews in Nauru (which has since been completed in early May) and Papua New Guinea; establishment of the <em>Pacific Women</em> Advisory Group on Research and progress on the formulation of the program’s research strategy; and plans for the development of new initiatives to support women's political participation in the region. <br>
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The PMC meets twice a year and will reconvene in August/September. <br>
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<strong><em>Pacific Women</em> Advisory Group on Research Meet in Suva</strong><br>
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The<em> Pacific Women</em> Advisory Group on Research held its first meeting in Suva from 26-28 April to review the program’s draft Research Strategy, the Advisory Group’s Terms of Reference and discuss the proposed plan of research activities to be implemented over the next 12 months.<br>
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The Research Strategy aims to support high quality, locally appropriate and sustainable research that addresses and informs responses to gender inequality in the Pacific region. Its intention is to identify a research agenda for <em>Pacific Women </em>that informs program development and implementation and which also contributes to a legacy of quality Pacific research work, capacity, systems and partnerships that can be sustained beyond the life of the program.<br>
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The role of the Advisory Group is to provide advice to DFAT on the strategic direction of the <em>Pacific Women </em>research program; assess and evaluate research priorities for <em>Pacific Women</em>; appraise research projects and initiatives; facilitate strategic collaboration and partnerships; and promote and support efforts towards better use of research both in <em>Pacific Women’s</em> work and through influencing policy decisions and practice at regional and national level.<br>
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As part of their role, the Advisory Group has identified short, medium and long term research priorities informed by program implementation and key direction setting documents such as <em>Pacific Women’s</em> Regional Roadmap, and discussed the idea of a Pacific gender research portal to be explored in the second half of 2017.<br>
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The group is made up of research specialists and practitioners: <strong>Helen Tanielu-Stowers</strong> (National University of Samoa), <strong>Professor Betty Lovai</strong> (University of Papua New Guinea), <strong>Dr Claire Slatter</strong> (University of the South Pacific), <strong>Associate Professor Yvonne Underhill-Sem</strong> (University of Auckland), <strong>Associate Professor Nicole Haley</strong> (Australia National University), <strong>Kim Robertson</strong> (Pacific Community), <strong>Meghan Cooper</strong> (International Women’s Development Agency), <strong>Megan Chisolm</strong> (CARE International) and two individual researchers, <strong>Dr Milika Sobey</strong> and <strong>Dr Heidi Tyedmers</strong>. <br>
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<strong><em>Pacific Women</em> Reviews MEL Framework </strong><br>
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<img width="240" height="152" style="border:0px;width:240px;height:152px;margin:0px;line-height:100%;outline:none;text-decoration:none;display:inline" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/78c103e9b7043e7f0bea624eb/_compresseds/4b7b1e29-5a82-4d09-93c5-edbd150bd973.jpg"><br>
<em>Participants at the inaugural review of Pacific Women's Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Framework. Photo: Shazia Usman, Pacific Women Support Unit. </em><br>
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In 2015, the <em>Pacific Women </em>Support Unit began designing and operationalising a Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) system for <em>Pacific Women.</em> Key components of the system include a: 1) Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Framework; 2) Knowledge Management System (KMS) Database; 3) M&E panel, made up of fourteen M&E Specialists and nine M&E Practitioners; 4) Data Collection Toolkit; and 5) <em>Pacific </em>Women annual and six-monthly progress reporting.<br>
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To ensure the system remains relevant and useful, it undergoes a regular review process. The inaugural review was held from the 10-12 May at the Support Unit office in Fiji. The workshop brought together thirteen implementing partners, Support Unit and DFAT staff, as well as seven members from <em>Pacific Women’s </em>M&E and Gender panels. The workshop provided a space for participants to reflect on <em>Pacific Women’s </em>M&E system, and contribute recommendations based on their experience to increase the usability of the system.<br>
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The Support Unit M&E Manager is now working to integrate all the workshop recommendations to revise respective components of the M&E System. This will not result in a radically different system, but one that is strengthened based on program learning. Once finalised, this will be shared with all partners and stakeholders.<br>
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<strong>Nauru: Country Plan Review </strong><br>
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A review of the <em>Pacific Women </em>Nauru Country Plan was undertaken from 8-11 May. Nauru’s first country plan was implemented from 2014-2016 and focused on improving the health sector response and services to reduce domestic violence, increased access to justice and improved legislation and policy environment for reducing domestic violence and increased leadership and decision making opportunities for women. The review was jointly undertaken with UN Women and included representatives from DFAT and the <em>Pacific Women</em> Support Unit. The review team held consultations with the government, civil society and private sector. The new Country Plan 2017-2021 is expected to be finalised by the end of June. <br>
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<strong>Tonga: Women’s Economic Empowerment Program</strong><br>
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A design mission is underway for a three-year women’s economic empowerment program for the Tonga National Centre for Women and Children (TNCWC). Established by the Catholic Women’s League in 2000, TNCWC has operated previously as a crisis support centre for women and children experiencing domestic violence. Following an organisational strengthening review in October 2015, TNCWC now plans to deliver services that focus on economic empowerment for women survivors of violence. The design will be completed by June and is supported by <em>Pacific Women</em>. <br>
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<strong>Evaluation: Progressing Gender Equality Across the Pacific Region</strong>
<p>In late 2016, <em>Pacific Women </em>and the<em> </em>Pacific Community (SPC) commissioned a joint mid-term evaluation of SPC's Progressing Gender Equality in the Pacific (PGEP) Project.<strong> </strong>This project, valued at $3.8 million works across 14 countries and is funded through <em>Pacific Women’s </em>regional program. PGEP is a five-year project that works with Pacific Island Governments to 1) strengthen governments’ capacity to mainstream gender; and 2) improve gender statistics to better monitor progress towards gender equality. </p>
<p>The evaluation found that the PGEP project remains highly relevant, and that SPC remains the best placed organisation to deliver this project given its technical capacity and networks in the region and in Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs). The evaluation also concluded that PGEP is achieving positive and demonstrable gains in gender mainstreaming and gender statistics in seven countries; and in a further three countries where assistance has been more sporadic. All PICTs interviewed provided overwhelmingly positive feedback about the type of assistance provided through PGEP. Comments centered on the level of the team’s technical expertise in gender mainstreaming and gender statistics, as well as their ‘partnership’ approach to working with countries.</p>
A primary learning from the evaluation was that with only four SPC project staff having responsibility for supporting gender mainstreaming and gender statistics, to maximise effectiveness, it is critical that planned activities are not only leveraged with existing opportunities in country, but are also coordinated with other partners as much as possible. The evaluation identified that a comprehensive, practical and coordinated focus in the next phase of PGEP was critical to embed progress and overcome challenges surrounding gender mainstreaming. <br>
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The full evaluation report including the management response can be accessed <a style="color:#336699;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" href="http://pacificwomen.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=78c103e9b7043e7f0bea624eb&id=098eaad14b&e=f35d9216c3" target="_blank">here</a>. <br>
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<div style="text-align:left;color:#505050;font-family:Georgia,Times,'Times New Roman',serif;font-size:11px;line-height:150%"><strong>PNG National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to GBV (2016-2025)</strong></div>
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Papua New Guinea’s National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender Based Violence (2016-2025) was officially launched on Papua New Guinea’s National Women’s Day, 24 March. </div>
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This is a welcome step in addressing gender-based violence issues in Papua New Guinea. <em>Pacific Women</em> is pleased to have supported the development of the strategy and commends the Government of Papua New Guinea in taking steps to reduce and prevent gender-based violence in accordance with Papua New Guinea’s Vision 2050 (the country’s 40-year national development strategy launched in 2010).<br>
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The Strategy aims to enhance and support policies and laws already in place. It takes a comprehensive approach to preventing and responding to gender based violence sanctioning governance arrangements as well as policy and regulatory frameworks, finance and planning for national interventions. The Strategy calls for the collection, analysis and use of data and research to enhance gender-based violence prevention and response efforts and advocacy to reduce gender-based violence at all levels.<br>
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<em>Pacific Women </em>will continue working with the Department for Community Development and Religion to support the implementation of the Strategy.<br>
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<div style="text-align:left;color:#505050;font-family:Georgia,Times,'Times New Roman',serif;font-size:11px;line-height:150%"><strong>My Walk to Equality<br>
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<em>My Walk to Equality</em> is an anthology of essays, stories and poetry written by Papua New Guinean women capturing their everyday struggles and triumphs. A first of its kind for Papua New Guinea, the book was launched on International Women’s Day, in Port Moresby and Brisbane.</div>
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Edited by Rashmii Amoah Bell and published by Pukpuk Publications, <em>My Walk to Equality </em>contributes to the development of national literature and the documentation of women’s voices and experience as an integral element of Papua New Guinea’s national identity.<br>
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To support wide readership, the Australian High Commission in Port Moresby has purchased 2,000 copies of <em>My Walk to Equality. </em>With support from the <em>Pacific Women</em> Support Unit, the books are being distributed to government departments and agencies, libraries, universities as well as women’s groups and non-government organisations. Copies are available for purchase on <a style="color:#336699;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:underline" href="http://pacificwomen.us3.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=78c103e9b7043e7f0bea624eb&id=352daf7bcb&e=f35d9216c3" target="_blank">Amazon</a>. </div>
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