Issue 25: March–April 2020
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Pacific Women E-News provides readers with information and updates on projects receiving technical and funding support from Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development (Pacific Women), including projects managed by the program such as Pacific Girl. Pacific Women is an Australian Government program focused on improving gender equality and women's empowerment across the Pacific. Catch up on what you missed in the last edition here.
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Pacific Women is prioritising the safety of its staff, partners and Pacific communities as we closely monitor the impact of TC Harold and the COVID-19 pandemic on our region and the world.
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Together with our partners, we are adapting plans and activities based on this evolving situation. We will continue to diligently follow all government and health advice.
If our implementing partners have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Pacific Women Support Unit: information@pacificwomen.org.fj
We will work closely with you to track the possible impacts of the pandemic on your team, activities and budget. We recognise that partners will need to adjust their workplan priorities and may need to adjust their budgets, either due to activities being cancelled or needing to provide increased services. We are also aware that during this pandemic period, there is the added crisis of Tropical Cyclone Harold affecting many of our partners.
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News about Pacific Women supported initiatives
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Pacific girls under the spotlight at the United Nations CRC event in Samoa
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‘We are the future of our world, and if you’re discussing the future, our opinions are much needed,’ says 'Anamalia Falemaka of the Talitha Project, Tonga. She took centre stage at ‘A dive into the Blue Pacific’, a side event at the 84th Extraordinary Session of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in Samoa.
Read more about the side event: https://pacificwomen.org/news/pacific-girls-under-the-spotlight-at-the-united-nations-crc-event-in-samoa/
'Anamalia was to be joined by peers from Fiji and Papua New Guinea but they were unable to attend as their flights were cancelled due to the coronavirus threat. Pamela of Equal Playing Field was in Fiji; caught in transit between Papua New Guinea and Samoa due to changes in her connecting flight on her way to attend the side event.
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In lieu of a Samoan stage, Pamela shared her personal reflections on issues faced by young girls in Papua New Guinea with the upport Unit in this video. She highlights child abuse, corporal punishment, child molestation, child marriage, child neglect and bullying. She also shared the focus of Equal Playing Field’s work.
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New Leads, advisers and staff at the Pacific Women Support Unit
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Pacific Women recently welcomed new co-leads for the program’s Support Unit, two new senior program officers providing multi-country support and four new advisers providing technical expertise to initiatives in the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu.
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Taking precedence in their new roles is supporting staff, partners and Pacific communities as the COVID-19 pandemic increasingly affects the region and the world. Such crisis contexts are known to generate an increase in gender-based violence.
The new technical advisers are ready to respond to any requests for surge support, advice and offsite help to crisis support centres adjusting to disruptions in their operations, and increased service demand to support women and children survivors of domestic violence and family violence. Read more here.
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Pacific Women at the Australasian AID Conference
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It was a busy 2020 Australasian AID Conference for representatives of Pacific Women’s Advisory Board, funded partners and Support Unit staff who were invited to present during three panel discussions: the launch of the ‘Where is the money for women and girls in the Pacific?’ report; the 2020 Asia Girls Report preview; and the Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) panel.
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International Women's Day
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Pacific Women celebrated the progress we’ve made with our Pacific partners to raise awareness and reaching out to Pacific communities to end violence against women.
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International Women’s Day around the Pacific
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Pacific governments, private sector, civil society and non-government organisations and communities commemorated International Women’s Day (IWD) in a range of ways. Below are highlights of the events and messages, including from our partners around the region:
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Honourable Rattle is a member of the Pacific Women Advisory Board, Speaker of the Cook Islands’ Parliament and President of the Cook Islands Family Welfare Association.
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In Federated States of Micronesia
The Australian Embassy in Pohnpei hosted an IWD brunch, attended by representatives from government, regional and international organisations, religious bodies and women’s community groups.
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through Pacific Women, with support from the Australian Embassy in Pohnpei and the new Pacific Women Capacity Development Adviser for Gender-Based Violence in Federated States of Micronesia and Republic of the Marshall Islands, Wilma Eileen.
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In Fiji
The Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation shared a message of commemoration. While the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) had to cancel its annual Reclaim the Night March due to unforeseen circumstances, they marked the night with chants in front of the FWCC Suva building.
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The Fiji Women’s Fund (FWF) participated in Graduate Women Fiji’s Vital Voices Mentoring Walk and shared a story about one of the Fund’s grantees, Striders Women’s Rugby Club. The Pacific Community (SPC) held a ‘picnic at the museum’ featuring a traditional ancient game played only by Indigenous Fijian women called ‘caqe moli’, cancer screening and health checks, yoga and a children’s corner.
The Australian Government, through Pacific Women, is proud to be a funding partner of the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, FWCC, FWRM, FWF, SPC and others working in Fiji to improve gender equality and women’s empowerment.
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In Kiribati
Close to 400 women gathered to commemorate the day with a church service and a candlelight vigil, organised by the IWD Committee in Kiribati with support from Ministry of Women, Youth, Sports and Social Affairs (MWYSSA). The Australian High Commission also shared a message to mark the day, and continues to support the Ministry and other Kiribati-based gender equality projects through Pacific Women.
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In Nauru
The Department of Gender Affairs coordinated IWD commemorations with a church service at Aiwo Congregational Church and a lunch event. The Australian High Commission also marked the day with an afternoon tea to celebrate women leaders from government, the private sector and communities on 11 March.
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Pictured is one of the Pacific Women Support Unit’s new senior program officers, Salaseini Tupou (third from left) and new Pacific Women Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Adviser for Nauru, Lyndene Wan (fourth from left) with Australian High Commission staff.
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In Niue
The Chamber of Commerce held a networking breakfast as an opportunity for women “to celebrate, share, learn and challenge each other”.
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In Palau
The Ministry of Community and Cultural Affairs, through its Bureau of Aging, Disability and Gender, hosted a two-day forum under the theme ‘The Business of Culture and Wellbeing.’ The event was held 10–11 March in Koror-Palau, with funding from the Australian Government through Pacific Women.
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The Australian Government in partnership with the Government of Papua New Guinea, and through Pacific Women, is proud to support the Nazareth Centre for Rehabilitation, Oil Search Foundation and others working in Papua New Guinea to improve gender equality and women’s empowerment.
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government and civil society with technical and funding support through Pacific Women. Pictured are Tuvaluan women at the closing session of the national forum.
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Partners supported by the Australian Government through Pacific Women also commemorated the day: CARE in Vanuatu shared a message and World Vision International held an all-male panel: ‘The rise of women does not mean the fall of men’. Wan Smol Bag also released the short film ‘Talemaot’ online, originally launched in 2017.
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International Girls in ICT day
23 April 2020
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International Day of Families
15 May 2020
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International Day to End Obstetric Fistula
23 May 2020
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Share the news with your friends!
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