Violence Against Women:
Solomon Islands
Robyn Edwards
Solomon greetings
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Welkam, gudfela aftenun evriwan
Mi hapi tumas for stori stori tugeta tude
Thank yu tumas for yufela everiwan kam
Living and working in Solomon Islands, Honiara & Gizo
My presentation examines the geography, dual
economy, Melanesian culture, politics and gender
relations, to consider the question of violence against
women in SI.
Where is Solomon Islands?
Solomon’s Geography
• 996 islands and atolls (more than 300 inhabited)
• Three main towns, Honiara (capital, Guadalcanal), Gizo
(Western Province), Auki (Malaita)
• Population around 600,000 (mainly Melanesian)
• 85% of the population live in rural areas and villages
• Impact of geography on women and VAW (Rarumana,
Outer Malaita Islands, Family Protection Bill)
Coconut – green gold
The Dual Economy women as workers
• Subsistence economy and cash economy
• Coconut floating in the sea, half in water, half above water
• Women’s economic livelihoods and women’s empowerment (post
MDG, SDG)
• Women’s Savings Clubs & Gizo Women in Business
• Story of Ruth
• Women work very hard, they do a lot more than raise many
children (in Gizo may get up before the sun to chop firewood, cook
fish & chips, sell at market all day, mind children & grandchildren,
cook for family, collect water in dry season, wash clothes for family)
Women and men’s activities
(field work Rarumana)
TIME/DATE
5:30-6:00
6:00-8:00
8:00-9:00
9:00-12:00
MEN
Sleeping
Morning prayer
Breakfast
Gardening
ACTIVITY
WOMEN
Cooking
Morning prayer
Make breakfast
Gardening
12:004:00
Rest/
smoking
Clean up, mind
small children
4:00-6:00
6:00-8:00
8:00-10:00
Fishing
Dinner
Prayer/sleeping
Cooking
Dinner
Prayer/sleeping
MON
FRIDAY
YOUTH
Sleeping
Morning prayer
Breakfast
Cooking/Washing
Sport/activities
Swimming
Dinner
Liu
Women’s Savings Club, Gizo
Supporting women’s empowerment
at the village level
SI Family Health and Safety Study,
2009, Secretariat Pacific Community
• 64% of women aged 15 -49, who have ever been in a
relationship, reported experiencing physical and/or sexual
violence by an intimate partner; that’s 2 in 3 Solomon
Islander women
• The study found majority of women experience severe
violence such as punching with a closed fist, kicking, being
burnt or having a weapon used against them
• Women’s high level of acceptance of violence as a ‘normal’
part of married life
• Melanesian culture, status of women and bride price
Violence against Women in SI:
‘normal’
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Of the women interviewed who had experienced partner violence, 73% (nearly
three quarters) believed a man was justified in beating his wife under some
circumstances, for example if she has been unfaithful, if the husband suspects she
has been unfaithful, if the wife disobeys him, if the housework is not completed to
his satisfaction, if she refuses to have sex with him or she asks him whether he has
girlfriends (SPC, 2009 p73). These are all situations where women believe ‘a man
has good reason to beat his wife’.
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‘Women are expected to be obedient, faithful, perform household duties, defer to
their husband on decision-making and to bear children. When women are
perceived as not living up to these gendered expectations then violence often
occurs’. (Pione Boso, Ministry for Women, 2011, SIDT VAW workshop)
2 in 3: Young women’s futures?
SI National Policy on Eliminating
Violence Against Women, 2010
Key messages
• Zero tolerance of violence
• Recognition of women’s rights (right to be safe at
home)
• Sharing responsibility for elimination of violence
against women & children
• Achieving gender equality
SI Family Protection Act
• Passed in 2014, yet to be implemented by the newly
elected government
• Aims of Act are very ambitious: the safety and
protection of persons who experience or witness
domestic violence; provide programs for victims to
assist their recovery; facilitate the issue and
enforcement of police protection orders to stop
domestic violence; increased sentences for
perpetrators convicted of domestic violence offences.
Solomon Islands National Elections
November 2014
The reality: men, politics and
corruption
Women in Parliament
• The country context of Melanesian culture: men are the ‘natural leaders’
and people in authority
• Results of 2014 National Election: In the 50 seat National Parliament, 49
men and one woman were elected. 28 women stood for election
• SI became independent in 1978, previously they were a British colony.
Since independence, there have only been 3 women elected to
parliament.
• My neighbour and her reasons for voting for an unpopular candidate
• Young Women’s Parliamentary Group, Temporary Special Measures
(CEDAW) and generational change.
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Community development and
prevention of VAW
Public awareness and advocacy - one of the strategies within the national policy - was the major goal of
the Solomon Islands Development Trust (SIDT) project which I led for 12 months, guided and supported by
the skilful Solomon Islander Director, Jennifer Wate. Given the fact that 85% of Solomon Islanders live a
subsistence life in small rural villages scattered over hundreds of islands in the South Pacific ocean, the
great bulk of the population has never heard of the national policy and are completely unaware of its
important message: zero tolerance. For most Solomon Islanders, VAW is normal and acceptable. SIDT, an
indigenous organisation which believes the village is the heart of the nation, wanted to bring the
messages written in the national policy to the grass-roots level, through storytelling, theatre, community
awareness and advocacy.
Primary prevention must be at the centre of any country program to reduce gender-based violence.
The geography of the SI, the acceptability and ‘normality’ of gender based violence, and its massive
prevalence all present a rationale for primary prevention approaches. 2 in 3 women; you can’t provide
safe houses for 2/3 of the female population, even if they wanted to leave their partner, which in most
cases they do not. 300 inhabited islands, many are remote; no police posts to protect women.
Sef hom for mami, hapi hom for
pikinini, gud hom for everiwan
SIDT’s Community Theatre Group
Tour of Villages
Women as Peacemakers and Leaders
during the Ethnic Tension
• Women were leaders in their communities during and after the SI
ethnic tensions of 1998 – 2003. As reported in women’s submission
to the SI Truth and Reconciliation Commission ‘Stori Blong Mifala
Olketa Mere’ (Stories belonging to all our women) ‘Women proved
themselves as peace-makers, heads of households, counsellors and
leaders…the overall impression is one of women as champions of
peace (p1)’.
• During the six year period of civil unrest, fought predominantly
between Guadalcanal and Malaita militias, SI women approached
the bunkers negotiating with the militants to lay down their
weapons.
Missionaries arrive early 1900s
• Influence of the Christian Church: 95% of
population Christian
• In the villages the church is the focal point for the
community
• Churches run health clinics, kindergartens and
schools
• Impact on gender relations and violence against
women: women must ‘submit’ to the man
Australia in the Pacific Region
• Blackbirding
• Australia’s Aid Budget
• Australia’s connection with Pacific region: address
growing inequality (link to gender inequality)
• Provide active support and funds to achieve
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, post MDGs) in
Pacific region.
Blackbirding – Australia’s
secret shame
The Australian Aid Budget –
more shame
• ‘Biggest aid cuts ever produce our least generous aid
budget ever’ – 2015/16 $1 billion (20%) cut from aid
budget (ANU Development Policy Centre)
• Impact on work of NGOs
• Need for this conference to make strong representation to
government and opposition to restore the aid budget to
previous levels
• Gender equality and women’s empowerment in Pacific
region to be key goals of Australian aid, linked to reducing
violence against women.
Conclusions
• In any serious and sustained effort to reduce violence against
women, a central component must be supporting local women’s
initiatives and women’s empowerment at the village level. This will
be more powerful and sustainable than imposing and transplanting
a gender based violence program from the Canberra bureaucracy
into the Pacific region.
• The other component must be primary prevention approaches
involving both men and women leaders at the village level,
churches, schools, civil society and government.
SDGs: Address global inequality
Contact details
• Thank yu tumas and lukim yu
• I hope you have learned a bit about the Solomon
Islands today, at least you will know where it is, which
my local Bondi post office did not know
• Contact details:
Robyn Edwards
robynevaedwards@hotmail.com
Mobile: 0449 179 238