Pacific Women connects more than 170 gender equality initiatives supported by the Australian Government and implemented by over 160 partners across 14 Pacific Island countries.
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News about Pacific Women supported initiatives
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Pacific Girl convening 'by girls for girls'
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Girls from six Pacific Island countries have convened an online panel discussion about Girls Agency: the Pacific Girl Journey. The Pacific Girl program's regional panel discussion was led 'by girls for girls'.
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It brought together adolescent girls and young women from the six initiatives supported by the Pacific Girl program across six countries. Members of the Regional Learning Network coordinated by the Pacific Girl program were invited to join the closing session. Read More.
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'Snakes and Ladders' interactive tool launched and the new
Pacific Women Lead program announced
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A new ‘Snakes and Ladders’ interactive tool, showing the opportunities and pitfalls women face on their journey to economic empowerment, is being released this week as a result of its popularity during the 14th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women. You can now download, print and play the ‘Snakes and Ladders’ board game that was a centrepiece during the side event ‘From participation to power: mapping economic pathways to women’s empowerment’. Read More
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The side event was convened by Pacific Women's Support Unit, partnering with CARE Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu Skills Partnership. Read More.
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Also during the Triennial, was the announcement of the new Pacific Women Lead program – providing $170 million over five years to the region – made by Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs & Minister for Women, Senator the Honourable Marise Payne. The new program’s announcement is well timed, as the current Pacific Women program for gender equality wraps up its almost 10-year tenure by the end of 2021.
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New research gives a voice to adolescent girls in Tonga
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'Barriers surround us such as taboos for topics, including reproductive health, that are not commonly discussed at home and in communities,’ said 18 year-old Ana Malia Falemaka, Talitha Project, at the launch of the ‘Adolescent Unplanned Pregnancy in the Pacific – Tonga’ research report.
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The complex and life-changing experience of adolescent unplanned pregnancy and motherhood in Tonga is addressed in the research report, developed by the University of NSW (UNSW) and supported by the Australian Government's Gender Equality Fund, through Pacific Women. Talitha Project and the Tonga Family Health Association partnered in the research to collect data from young women and girls aged 16–19 years. Read More.
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Groundbreaking forum as Tuvalu's Traditional Leaders prioritise ending violence against women and girls
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For the first time in its history, the Traditional Leaders' Forum of Tuvalu dedicated its annual meeting to ending violence against women.
Issues discussed by traditional leaders included the impacts of COVID-19, gender-based violence and human rights.
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The Forum convened more than 40 people in Funafuti and remotely via Zoom, organised by the Gender Affairs Department of the Ministry of Health Social Welfare and Gender Affairs with the theme ‘Let us Work Together to Make Our Home Safe for Everyone’. Read More.
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Thematic Brief for 'Gender and COVID-19 Economic Recovery Measures in the Pacific'
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A gender analysis of the economic impacts and recovery measures of COVID-19 in the Pacific has been released by the Pacific Women Support Unit. It details how a lack of gendered economic response measures will benefit men, while largely failing to reach women.
Read More.
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Roundtable members concerned about COVID-19 impacts on Women's Economic Empowerment in the Pacific
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Gender-inclusive approaches are needed in order to effectively respond to crises, including COVID-19 and Tropical Cyclones Yasa and Ana. The need for more gender-inclusive responses to crises and other issues were discussed at the first Women’s Economic Empowerment roundtable meeting for 2021. It follows last year’s roundtable webinar about the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 on women and marginalised groups. Read More.
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Solomon Islands launches its Gender Equality Plan for 2020–2022
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The new Gender Equality Plan for Solomon Islands 2020–2022 has a focus on amplifying women’s voices in development decision making and implementation while partnering with women’s and disabled persons organisations to drive change.
Read More.
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Kiribati training to help teachers and staff better respond to
reports of sexual and gender-based violence
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A new training for staff and teachers of the Kiribati Institute of Technology (KIT) highlights the need for safety and support in responding to reports of sexual and gender-based violence. The training is being delivered in partnership by KIT and the Kiribati Women and Children’s Support Centre (KWCSC). More.
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Women United Together Marshall Islands extends its services to Ebeye
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Women United Together Marshall Islands (WUTMI) has expanded its support services for women beyond the capital of Majuro, to the island
of Ebeye. WUTMI established RMI’s first counselling and support service, Weto in Mour, in 2016 with support from the Australian Government through Pacific Women.
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Funding for the Ebeye centre is from the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative, via UN Women, complementing Pacific Women’s long-term support for WUTMI. More.
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From Balance of Power: Women’s political leadership in Vanuatu
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'If we can adapt and embrace changes resulting from the COVID-19 response, then why not change to embrace the need for more women leaders and parliamentarians?'
The Balance of Power (BOP) program Deputy Team Leader for Vanuatu, Jennifer Kalpokas Doan,
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has written a thought-provoking DevPolicy Blog on women's political leadership in Vanuatu. She said one of the many things we grapple with in today’s society is deciding what is socially and culturally acceptable. Read More.
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BOP has also supported new research about Tongan voters’ perceptions of women as leaders. The research has found the cultural context and deep-seated social norms in Tonga continue to influence perceptions of women as leaders. Tongan youth took a lead role in conducting the research managed by Tupou Tertiary Institute (TTI) Research and Training Centre, under the leadership of Dr ‘Ungatea Fonua Kata, in partnership with Tonga National Youth Congress (TNYC), with funding and support from BOP. Read More.
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From the Fiji Women's Fund: Latest Annual Report
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The Fiji Women’s Fund, despite the unprecedented challenges of 2020, continues to grow in strength, reach and impact. The Fund supported 32 women-led and feminist initiatives during the year, as detailed in its 2020 Annual Report. Collectively, its grants reached 18,600 Fijians through regular programming. Read More.
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From Pacific Girl: Girls Rise Up! supports 200 at-risk girls
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The Girls Rise Up! project aims to develop the confidence, skills and knowledge of more than 200 at-risk girls to help them establish supportive peer networks and the opportunity to safely advocate for issues that affect them.
This Pacific Girl program story has appeared in Solomon Islands' Island Sun Newspaper, prompting a blog by CARE Australia highlighting the important work of the project and the impact it has made on adolescent girls including girls with disabilities. Read More.
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Fiji Women's Rights Movement's GIRLS initiative welcomes newcomers
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A new group of 10 girls aged 11–12 years are participating in the Grow Inspire Relate Lead Succeed (GIRLS) initiative, part of the Pacific Girl program. The new girl recruits are from Suva’s informal settlements and join 37 other girls who are part of the program including girls who are deaf from Fiji’s Gospel School of the Deaf and the Hilton Special School. Read More.
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International Women's Day
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Earlier this year, Pacific Women partners led and participated in a range of activities for International Women’s Day (IWD), which is a global campaign to celebrate women's social, economic, cultural and political achievements while calling for increased focus on women across the globe. Pacific Women captured the highlights of partner activities, including links to Facebook and website stories. Read More.
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Updates from the Design Team
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Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has announced a new Pacific Women Lead program of $170 million over five years. Read More.
DFAT has advised stakeholders it will work towards a smooth transition in 2021 from the current Pacific Women program to the Pacific Women Lead program.
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International Day of Friendship
30 July
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World Day against Trafficking in Persons
30 July
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International Youth Day
12 August
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World Humanitarian Day
19 August
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International Day of the Girl Child
11 October
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