Violence against women in Melanesia and East Timor: Building on global and regional promising practices
Mary Ellsberg, Ph.D.
Vice President, Health and Development mellsberg@icrw.org

Study led by PATH under contract to AUSAID
Mary Ellsberg, formerly of PATH
Chris Bradley, independent consultant
Andrew Egan, AUSAID
Amy Haddad, AUSAID

Participatory review of promising practices in
GBV in Melanesia and East Timor
• Goal is to contribute to evidence base on what works and what doesn’t in GBV programming based on experiences in Melanesia and East Timor
• Provide lessons learned from the region and recommendations to AUSAID and governments for strengthening and scaling up support to promising interventions in the region

• Innovative solutions- what contributed to their success?
• Where are the gaps?
• How to strengthen GBV work and scale up promising practices?
• What lessons can be applied to other settings?

Methodology
• Document Review
• Field visits of international team – 5-9 days per country
– Interviews with key informants
– Focus Group Discussions with a broad cross section of different individuals and sectors that come into contact with
GBV issues and programs
– Creation of Advisory Groups in each country

Over 700 individuals participated
• Focus groups and interviews with:
– Magistrates, public solicitors, police
– Women’s crisis centers, churches, women activists
– Government officials (MoH, MSW, MWA)
– Donors, UN agencies, INGOs
– Community men and women, youth groups, beneficiaries of programs

Participatory methods used
• Free listing and ranking
• Timelines
• Open ended stories
• Venn Diagrams
• Organizational mapping

What do we need to change?

Venn Diagram

Who can help Leila?
(domestic violence case) Venn diagram by FWCC staff, Suva the women come here after they’ve tried everything else
Give her counseling, and discuss if she feels safe to go home, or back to her relatives.
If she’s badly bruised, We take her to the government hospital for a medical report.
Someone nearby who she trusts, who will listen to her… but she might tell her just think of their children, think of her family
Crisis Center
Friend
LEILA
FAMILY
The Family might be helpful at first and take her in for a short while. But after that, reconciliation comes in and the husband comes around and they all want her to go back to him.” “His whole family might come with him and ask for her to go back, and she can’t refuse”
Church
Groups
Police
They will talk about the marriage vows:
“Till death do us part”.
Hospital
Some women come in and say they’ve been to the police so many times and nothing has happened.
They do the examination and medical report, some doctors do give them some counselling and tell them it’s their right to not be beaten.

The Road Traveled
The history of work on VAW in Vanuatu (Timelines)
1980 Independence of
Vanuatu from France and England women allowed and encouraged to vote
1980
VNCW established
1992
VWCC established
1985
Nairobi
Conference
1995
CEDAW and CRC ratified
1999
Family
Protection Bill submitted (still not passed)
1995
Setting up
Department of
Women’s affairs
2006
Women’s national Plan developed by
DWA
Chiefs ruling about women wearing trousers

Stakeholder mapping

Who’s working on GBV in Vanuatu? Who’s missing? (stakeholder mapping) international
RRRT
USP
OXFAM
NGOs
Not involved
Goverments
Police
Judiciar y
Public solicitor
Bilateral s
AUSAID,
NZD
Dept womens affairs
Vanuatu youth center
Church
UNIFEM,
UNAIDS,
UNICEF,
UNPFA chiefs
CAVAWS
Pacific children’s program
Fiji women’s crisis center
Malvatumauri
Council of chiefs
Vanuatu council of churches
Media
PWNAVAW
Community legal center
Education department
Local provincial governmen t
VANGO Health department

Developing a Blueprint for Action
• Findings analyzed together with local researchers and TAG members in a regional workshop in PNG
• Recommendations developed through consensus-based process
• Report vetted by local TAG members

Local women’s leadership must be recognized and nurtured

Working with traditional culture, not against it
• Committees against
Violence against Women
(Vanuatu) works closely with traditional chiefs and encourages dialogue with formal justice system
• Wan Smol Bag – theater group encourages reflection on meaning of local customs

Engaging is new partnerships is critical for changing community norms
– Church groups (Weavers)
– Trauma and peace building activities
(Kup Women for Peace, PNG, Sols)
– Sports
– Health sector
– Schools

Men and boys as allies…

Sharing knowledge and experiences is key!
• Beijing Conference
• Visit of Puntos de Encuentro to East Timor
• Pacific delegation to Rio Conference on Men and Boys