Violence against women and children is Vanuatu's most common crime, with 61 per cent of people incarcerated in jail for 'crimes against morality', which are generally sexual offences. Approximately 72 per cent of women in Vanuatu have experienced some form of physical or sexual violence in their lives, of whom 21 per cent were left with permanent injuries and 68 per cent were subjected to psychological violence by their intimate partners. While Vanuatu led the Pacific in introducing standalone legislation on family violence through the Family Protection Act 2008, the law has not been adequately implemented or enforced. Enhancing agency women’s During a review of Gender Equality Policy, it was found that poor political will, lack of Vanuatu’s technical, human and financial capacities, misconceptions about gender being a ‘women’s issue’, weak accountability and absence of incentives in tracking and evaluating progress were constraining factors to gender mainstreaming across the government. While some ministries and departments had developed sectoral gender plans and strategies, there is a need for systematically integrating gender responsive approaches to all government policies, programs and projects. Table 1: Bilateral Activities PROJECT NAME AND DESCRIPTION BUDGET PARTNER Outcome: Leadership and Decision Making Gender Equality Together: Strengthening the collective leadership, capacity $1,000,000 Strengthening Rights and coordination of civil society and government (2017–2018) Women’s in Vanuatu Project (CARE actors in Vanuatu to more effectively work Vanuatu) towards the promotion of gender equality and the elimination of violence against women and girls with and without disabilities in peacetime and disasters. Supported the development of alternative Support the introduction of $220,000 approaches to increase participation in women’s reserved seats for women at (2014–2017) politics. This project provided adaptive leadership Provincial Council level training to women councilors to increase skills in advocacy and policy reform. (Pacific Leadership Program and the Department of Women’s Affairs, Ministry of Justice and Community Services) Outcome: Economic Empowerment Support to the Alternative Improving packaging of products, promoting $150,000 Communities Trade in Vanuatu access to local and international markets. (2017–2018) (ACTIV) Women access skill-sharing sessions on the development of small scale agriculture production. Markets for Change (UN Women) Improving market governance, management, $3,429,077 infrastructure and access to financial services to (2014–2019) increase women's economic empowerment and
Violence against women and children is Vanuatu's most common crime, with 61 per cent of people incarcerated in jail for 'crimes against morality', which are generally sexual offences. Approximately 72 per cent of women in Vanuatu have experienced some form of physical or sexual violence in their lives, of whom 21 per cent were left with permanent injuries and 68 per cent were subjected to psychological violence by their intimate partners. While Vanuatu led the Pacific in introducing standalone legislation on family violence through the Family Protection Act 2008, the law has not been adequately implemented or enforced. Enhancing women’s agency During a review of Vanuatu’s Gender Equality Policy, it was found that poor political will, lack of technical, human and financial capacities, misconceptions about gender being a ‘women’s issue’, weak accountability and absence of incentives in tracking and evaluating progress were constraining factors to gender mainstreaming across the government. While some ministries and departments had developed sectoral gender plans and strategies, there is a need for systematically integrating gender responsive approaches to all government policies, programs and projects. Table 1: Bilateral Activities PROJECT NAME AND PARTNER DESCRIPTION BUDGET Outcome: Leadership and Decision Making Gender Equality Together: Strengthening Women’s Rights in Vanuatu Project (CARE Vanuatu) Strengthening the collective leadership, capacity and coordination of civil society and government actors in Vanuatu to more effectively work towards the promotion of gender equality and the elimination of violence against women and girls with and without disabilities in peacetime and disasters. $1,000,000 (2017–2018) Support the introduction of reserved seats for women at Provincial Council level (Pacific Leadership Program and the Department of Women’s Affairs, Ministry of Justice and Community Services) Supported the development of alternative approaches to increase women’s participation in politics. This project provided adaptive leadership training to women councilors to increase skills in advocacy and policy reform. $220,000 (2014–2017) Outcome: Economic Empowerment Support to the Alternative Communities Trade in Vanuatu (ACTIV) Improving packaging of products, promoting access to local and international markets. Women access skill-sharing sessions on the development of small scale agriculture production. $150,000 (2017–2018) Markets for Change (UN Women) Improving market governance, management, infrastructure and access to financial services to increase women's economic empowerment and $3,429,077 (2014–2019)
pwspd-vanuatu-summary.docx