Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697636355339.pdf (Australia)
Human Rights of Women and Girls in the Pacific | Oaktree Submission Who is Oaktree?

Oaktree is Australia’s largest youth-led development organisation.

We champion young people as key agents of social change.

This submission is based on seventeen years of experience in international and domestic youth-targeted programming.

Since 2003, we have worked with local partners in the Indo-Pacific to deliver education opportunities and capacity-building programs to empower young people in our region.
Executive Summary In the Pacific region, women and girls face many barriers to the fulfilment of their human rights, limiting their opportunities to truly thrive.

Young women in particular face critical challenges.

Acknowledging the extreme ‘youth bulge’ in the Pacific, where half of the population is under the age of 25, young women account for an especially large group.

As such, they should receive proportionate attention in Australia’s aid program.
Investment into the empowerment of young women will drive Pacific nations’ development progress, and in turn, contribute to the Australian Government’s vision of a secure, stable and prosperous region.

Oaktree's primary recommendations Pacific are as follows: to strengthen the human rights of women and girls in the 1.

Recognise civil society organisations are essential to improving the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific 1.1 partners with key women’s rights organisations across the Pacific.
Continue strong investment into Pacific Women: Shaping Pacific Development which 2.

Expand education and training opportunities for young women, which is critical to the Invest in strengthening the human capital of young women in the Pacific 2.1 Pacific’s economic recovery post the COVID-19 crisis 2.2 responsibilities under the Pacific Step Up.

Recognise that empowering young women is a critical aspect of Australia’s 3.
Broaden Pacific Women to to elevate the visibility of young Pacific Women & Girls ​ women in Australia’s development program 3.1 development programming for youth, and young women in particular.
Collect age and gender disaggregated data to monitor the effectiveness of Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 26 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Term of Reference 1 (The role of civil society groups in Pacific Islands in responding practically to domestic, family and sexual violence, and other human rights issues such as gender equality) Recommendation:​ ​Recognise civil society organisations are essential to improving the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific Human Rights Issues for Young Women in the Pacific 1 2 Young women in the Pacific account for a particularly large group, due to certain demographic factors.
At present, the Pacific is experiencing an extreme ‘youth bulge’.

In contrast to the Australian population, where just 12.8% of the population is aged 15 to 24 , in the Pacific, youth account for 20% of the population .

Over half of the Pacific’s population is under the age of 25 .

Approximately a quarter of Pacific Islanders are young women, however they continue to be systematically marginalised and under-invested, restricting their human rights and human capital.
This marginalisation is increased with intersections of disability, or gender and sexually diverse identity.

Through recent comprehensive consultation with young women across the Pacific, common issues that present key challenges to their human rights have been identified.
This includes access to including sexual violence and early and arranged marriage; the burden of unpaid care and domestic work; access to education and employment; political representation and culture and customs that restrict the rights of girls .

4 sexual and reproductive health information; violence and abuse, 3 Violence Against Women and Girls Violence against women and girls is highly prevalent in the Pacific .
Pacific women and girls experience violence often at a far higher rate than the global average.
For example, intimate partner physical and/or sexual violence is experienced by as many as 68% of women in Kiribati, 5 Cameron Noble, Natalia Pereira and Nanise Saune, “2016 Census - a ‘selfie’ of young people in Australia”, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2017, 1 https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs%40.nsf/mediareleasesbyCatalogue/AC02F0705E320F58CA25817C00016 A47?OpenDocument 2 , (Suva, Fiji: UNDP Pacific Centre, 2011), reducing risk for involvement in crime and violence ​ https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/migrated/oia/reports/upload/2011UrbanYouth_in_the_Pacific.pdf 3 coordinated approach to youth-centred development in the Pacific (Suva, Fiji: Secretariat of the Pacific ​ Community, 2015), 5, https://tinyurl.com/ssbjrq3 4 “What is Pacific Girl?”, Pacific Women: Shaping Pacific Development, June 2020, https://pacificwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/PacificGirl_Program-Overview_.pdf 5 https://pacificwomen.org/our-work/focus-areas/ending-violence-against-women/ “Ending Violence Against Women”, Pacific Women: Shaping Pacific Development, June 2020, The Pacific Youth Development Framework 2014–2023: A Urban youth in the Pacific: increasing resilience and Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), , p.iii Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 26 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 6 7 64% in Fiji and Solomon Islands, and 60% in Vanuatu .
Corporal punishment is especially prevalent in Tonga, inflicted on children and adolescents as common forms of discipline by fathers and teachers .

Violence against women and girls and intimidation of violence are an abuse to their human rights, and restricts their full participation in social, political and economic life.

It impedes development outcomes and strains health services, social services, police and justice systems.
Incidents of violence against women and girls in the Pacific have likely risen during the COVID-19 pandemic .

During a crisis, male perpetrated violence against women and children increases by 50 to 400 per cent .

This, coupled with the pandemic’s related restrictions in movement, social isolation, and increased social and economic pressures contributes to a more violent home environment for women and girls.
8 9 Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Information and Resources Access to sexual and reproductive health information and resources is a critical issue affecting young women in the Pacific.

Adolescent girls are provided with a limited sexual education as a result of stigma and discrimination, and school based programs are often restricted or opposed by adult educators or gatekeepers .
Fewer than 20% of adolescent girls, and 50% of adolescent boys in the Pacific report having utilised a modern form of contraception .

As such, high rates of teenage pregnancy are experienced in many parts of the Pacific, particularly in rural and remote areas.

Freer access to sexual health information and resources for youth in the Pacific would enable young people greater autonomy over their bodies and expand their life options.
11 10 The COVID-19 pandemic will strain resources devoted to sexual and reproductive health, disproportionately impacting women and girls.

During crises such as pandemics, essential services for women’s and girl’s health and survival are often compromised, with health resources diverted to meet other needs.

During the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2015-17, there was a 75% increase in maternal mortality related to disrupted reproductive and maternal health care .
12 There is a great risk that this scenario will be replicated in the Pacific where access to appropriate health services are low and rates of maternal mortality high.
In Papua New Guinea, Australian Disaster Resilience Knowledge Hub, https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1061132 (Metro Manila, Philippines: Asian Gender Statistics: The Pacific and Timor-Leste ​ Asian Development Bank, “Gender Statistics: The Pacific and Timor-Leste”, 4 “UN backs global action to end violence against women and girls amid COVID-19 crisis”, United Nations, April 6 Asian Development Bank, Development Bank, 2016), 4, https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/181270/gender-statistics-pacific-tim.pdf 7 8 2020, 9 , 2013, natural disaster ​ https://knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/ajem-apr-2013-the-hidden-disaster-domestic-violence-in-the-aftermath-of -natural-disaster/ 10 11 on Population and Development (NZPGPD) 2012).
12 and response”, Pacific Women: Shaping Pacific Development, “What is Pacific Girl” Burnet Institute Submission, ‘Pacific Youth: Their Rights, Our Future, (New Zealand Parliamentarians’ Group Julia Smith, “Overcoming the ‘tyranny of the urgent’: integrating gender into disease outbreak preparedness The hidden disaster: domestic violence in the aftermath of , vol.
27, no.2, (2019) Gender & Development ​ Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 26 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ where the maternal mortality ratio is already the highest in the Western Pacific Region, the pandemic has restricted women’s access to appropriate health care due to travel restrictions, economic impacts and fears of infection in hospitals.
Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of PNG Glen Mola, has warned, ‘it’s not best to plan a pregnancy this year or perhaps even next year’ due to fears about the impact of the pandemic on pregnant women trying to access the necessary health care .

13 Barriers to Education and Secure Employment for Young Women​.

In the Pacific, young women often have restricted access to education, training and secure employment.
At the secondary schooling level across the Pacific, many countries experience low enrolment rates for girls and boys, particularly in PNG, where rates in 2016 were lower than 50% 14 .

The secondary school enrolment rates for women tend to be slightly higher than those for men 15 16 .

There is also a real risk that the pandemic will prevent many girls from in the Pacific, however this does not translate into employment rates .
There remains large gender disparities in the labour market participation across the Pacific.

For example, men are 35% more likely to be employed than women in Samoa, 19% more likely in Vanuatu, and 24% more likely in Fiji returning to school.

After the 2014 West Africa Ebola Outbreak, many girls never returned to school in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone .
Following a crisis, girls’ education is one of the first areas to suffer, with losses in families’ income, and rises in poverty leading to girls’ school fees deprioritised in favour of male children.

This discrimination impacts girls’ fundamental right to an education, and speaks to young Pacific women’s ongoing concerns about barriers to education.
17 Child marriage is a serious problem in many parts of the Pacific, breaching the human rights of girls and reducing their ability to participate in education, training or employment.

Its incidence is as high as 21% in PNG, 22% in the Solomon Islands, and 27% in Vanuatu .

Child marriage is damaging to girls’ emotional and physical wellbeing.
It elevates their risk of domestic and sexual violence, anxiety and depression, and subjects them to the extreme dangers of pregnancy and 18 “Country at a Glance - Papua New Guinea”, The World Bank, June 2020, Asian Development Bank, “Gender Statistics: The Pacific and Timor-Leste”, 23 , (Fiji: ILO Office for Pacific A Study on the Future of Work in the Pacific International Labour Organisation, ​ 13 Natalie Whiting, “Coronavirus fears leave pregnant PNG women at risk despite nation's low infection rate”, ABC News, July 2020, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-25/pregnant-png-women-not-getting-care-due-to-coronavirus-fears/123804 36?mc_cid=9ad7f36c73&mc_eid=4434bc156d 14 https://datatopics.worldbank.org/education/country/papua-new-guinea 15 16 Island Countries, 2017), p.5, http://www.oit.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---ilo-suva/documents/publication/wcms_553880.p , df 17 Emma Smith, “Many Girls Won’t Go Back to School when Lockdown is over”, devex, May 2020, https://www.devex.com/news/many-girls-won-t-go-back-to-school-when-lockdown-is-over-97322 18 Mark Evenhuis, Jennifer Burn, Plan International Australia, 2014), https://www.plan.org.au/-/media/plan/documents/resources/plan_child_marriage_report_july_2014.pdf , (Melbourne: Just Married Just a Child: Child Marriage in the Indo-Pacifc region ​ Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 26 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ birth problems, which is the leading cause of mortality for girls aged 15-19 globally .
Child marriage often forces girls to leave school early, preventing them from engaging in vocational training and from finding work outside the home setting.

As such, they often do not have opportunities to escape the poverty cycle.

There is an increased risk of child marriage for girls in the Pacific as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic where pressures such as poverty can create an incentive for young girls to be married.
New studies modelling the impact of COVID-19 in the Pacific demonstrate, in a worst case scenario, up to a 40% increase in poverty could be experienced .

This would devastate development gains in the Pacific, including those relating to the human rights of women and girls such as secondary enrolment rates and child marriage.

20 19 21 In the Pacific, unemployment is a particularly pressing issue for young people.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the youth unemployment rate was estimated at 23% in the Pacific, 9% higher than the global average .

We also know that within the youth demographic, young Pacific women are more likely to be unemployed than their male peers .

However, this figure is expected to greatly rise due to the impacts of the pandemic, since young people are the most likely demographic to have their employment affected by an economic crisis .
This may involve a reduction in work hours, or losing their jobs altogether.

Youth in the Pacific are also rendered vulnerable to economic shock from the pandemic due to their high participation in informal .

In the Pacific, the lack of job availability in the formal sector restricts school employment leavers’ choices to predominantly informal work either in urban areas, or in subsistence or fishing 25 .
This leaves most young people in highly insecure circumstances and susceptible to economic 23 24 22 disruptions, left with low-earning work, and no social protection.

Shortages in skills relevant to workplaces across the Pacific also contributes to the high youth unemployment rate.
Skill shortages in areas such as technical and vocational areas are particularly apparent as well as entrepreneurial skills, which are highly relevant to Pacific economies with the high rates of informal or subsistence workers .

Investment into the human capital of young women in the Pacific has therefore never been so critical in addressing the gaps in the Pacific workforce, and bolstering the economies of many Pacific nations emerging from the pandemic.
26 The Role of Civil Society Groups ust Married Just a Child: Child Marriage in the Indo-Pacifc region J ​ International Labour Organisation, International Labour Organisation, Choudhry, Misbah Tanveer, Enrico Marelli, and Marcello Signorelli.

"Youth unemployment rate and impact of 2020).


, ( COVID-19 and the world of work ILO Monitor, ​ ​ , p.6 A Study on the Future of Work in the Pacific ​ 19 Plan International Australia, 20 Chris Hoy, “Poverty and the Pandemic in the Pacific”, UNU, 17 June 2020, www.wider.unu.edu/publication/poverty-and-pandemic-pacific 21 22 23 financial crises."
24 International Labour Organisation, 25 International Labour Organisation, 26 International Labour Organisation, , vol.33, no.1 (2012): 76-95. International journal of manpower ​ , p.7 A Study on the Future of Work in the Pacific ​ , p.7 A Study on the Future of Work in the Pacific ​ , pp.7-8 A Study on the Future of Work in the Pacific ​ .
Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 26 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Civil society groups are essential to improving the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific.

As discussed, young women face many challenges to the realisation of their human rights, which hampers their ability to thrive.
Civil society organisations often work to address problems in society, filling gaps in services or resources that the government or private sector will not, or are unable to supply.

In working to protect the human rights of young women in the Pacific, a vast array of civil society organisations play a practical role in providing specific resources and expertise relating to gendered power relations.
This is vital, as youth, and in particular young women, are an especially large, under-serviced, and marginalised demographic.

Civil society organisations provide specific services catering to young women.

This includes crisis support to domestic and family violence, sexual and reproductive health education and resources, access to life-saving reproductive health care, and the provision of training to increase employment prospects.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of these practical services provided by civil society organisations, particularly given the increases in the rate of domestic violence, the diversion of public health resources, and rising youth unemployment associated with the crisis.

For gender equality to continue to improve in the Pacific, it is integral that civil society organisations continue to be adequately resourced to drive positive and lasting change.
Term of Reference 2 (The key figures and groups which advance the human rights of women and girls' in the Pacific context) Recommendation: Recognise that civil society organisations are essential to improving the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific Numerous civil society organisations, including women’s groups, international and local not for-profit organisations, and religious organisations are working to advance the human rights and human capital of women and girls in the Pacific.
In the youth demographic, critical work is being done to empower young people through education, leadership and capacity building programs.

The Australian Government funded program Pacific Girl partners with several key civil society organisations working to strengthen the human rights of women and girls across Pacific Island countries.

Together, they deliver programs specifically aiming to enable adolescent girls to reach their full potential.
An example is the Chuuk Women’s Council in the Federated States of Micronesia, which will facilitate young women’s empowerment courses focussed on issues such as sexual health, healthy relationships, mental health and goal setting .
In Papua New Guinea, Equal Playing Field is utilising sport as an entry point to engage young people about the 27 27 Pacific Women: Shaping Pacific Development, “What is Pacific Girl?”, 1 Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 26 ​ importance of respectful relationships, through the Safe Schools, Strong Communities program.

Thousands of young people will be reached and empowered, stimulating a change in community attitudes against violence towards women and girls .
28 Similarly, international not for profit organisations are partnering with women’s rights organisations across the Pacific to expand opportunities for young women.

The International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA) partners with organisations in the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Bougainville and Fiji to empower women, and provides opportunities for young women to engage in capacity-building and leadership programs.
Their current ‘Women’s Action for Voice and Empowerment’ (WAVE) program supports efforts to increase the representation of women in diverse leadership opportunities, including providing young women opportunities to be trained in political or civic leadership .

Plan International Australia targets youth, and young women in particular across their development programming.
Their work is delivered in partnership with civil society organisations across the Pacific who engage youth broadly on issues of gender equality, human rights.

They also empower young women through leadership and capacity building programs such as the recent Bougainville Youth Initiative, which facilitates training opportunities for 990 young people to better access decent work, and provides leadership training for young women .
30 29 Term of Reference 3 (Engagement of these groups with Australia's Pacific Step-up) Recommendation: Invest in strengthening the human capital of young women in the Pacific It is vital that we continue supporting the work of civil society organisations engaged in empowering youth, and in particular, young women in our region.

Civil society groups empower young women to build their human capital, which broadens their opportunities in life, including their ability to participate economically in society.
Key forms of capacity-building include programs that improve girls’ access to secondary schooling, leadership workshops, and training opportunities to gain skills and formal qualifications.

An example is the FoLiHa (Youth Leading Together) program in Timor Leste supported by Oaktree, and implemented by local partners BaFaturu.

FoLiHa empowers 50 young women and men to engage in multi-day workshops on skills including leadership, conflict resolution, mentoring, and the international PeaceJam curriculum.
These Youth Change-Makers then utilise their skills to become activists and role models in their local communities.
Building human capital in youth, and young women in Pacific Women: Shaping Pacific Development, “What is Pacific Girl?”, 1 “Women’s Leadership”, IWDA, June 2020, “Pacific Region: Promoting and protecting the rights of girls and boys”, Plan International Australia, June 2020, 28 29 30 https://www.plan.org.au/-/media/plan/documents/program-profiles/programprofilepacificregion.pdf https://iwda.org.au/what-we-do/womens-leadership/ Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 26 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ particular is therefore critical to expanding opportunities for young people to contribute to the development of their communities, but also the broader region.
Investing in the human capital of young women is not only a human rights issue, but an economic issue.

At present, women are marginalised in the Pacific labour market.

Men are up to 35% more likely to be employed than women in Samoa, and 24% more likely than women in Fiji.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, youth unemployment was at 23%, and higher still for young women.
This is only expected to rise, with the pandemic proving to disproportionately impact youth employment, particularly given Pacific youth’s high participation in informal employment.

Increasing young women’s opportunities to participate in the Pacific labour market is more vital now than ever, so they can further contribute to the Pacific’s economic recovery process, following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Investment to galvanise the economic participation of young women also strengthens Australia’s commitments under the Pacific Step-up.

This includes our shared vision of an economically prosperous region, which in turn, paves the foundation for greater regional stability and security.
Term of Reference 4 (The​ ​effectiveness of Australian overseas development assistance programs in supporting the human rights of women and girls) Recommendation: Broaden Pacific Women to visibility of young women in Australia’s development program to elevate the Pacific Women & Girls ​ Pacific Women: Shaping Pacific Development (Pacific Women) is the Australian Government’s leading program demonstrating a shared commitment to achieving gender equality in the Pacific.
It supports over 150 local partners on over 170 gender equality initiatives .

Pacific Women has achieved a considerable amount towards its goal of gender equality since its establishment in 2012, and will be crucial to the Australian Government’s future engagement with the Pacific, including our commitment to the Pacific Step Up.
31 Ending violence against women is Pacific Women’s leading area of investment and its activities have funded crucial prevention and crisis resources, as well as responded to the needs of women and children survivors.

In the program’s eight years, Pacific Women has supported over 100,000 women and children to access crisis support, including counselling, health and justice services.
It has also reached over 920,000 people through community advocacy and engagement work about gender equality and ending violence against women .

Pacific Women has also invested in developing human capital.
It has provided opportunities for over 25,000 32 “Pacific Women: Supporting gender-inclusive COVID-19 responses”, Pacific Women: Shaping Pacific 31 Development, July 2020, https://pacificwomen.org/news/pw-supporting-gender-inclusive-covid-19-responses/#survey 32 “Program overview”, Pacific Women: Shaping Pacific Development, July 2020, https://pacificwomen.org/ Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 26 ​ ​ ​ ​ women to access financial services and financial literacy training, and has supported over 1,200 women to attain formal qualifications .
This work is crucial, now more than ever, given the challenges COVID-19 presents to the Pacific region, and to the human rights of women and girls in particular.

33 The effectiveness of programs like Pacific Women could be augmented by increasing its attention on Pacific youth, and young women in particular.

Demographic trends demonstrate a youth bulge in the Pacific, where young women under the age of 25, account for approximately a quarter of the population.
This youth bulge strains economic resources and services across the Pacific.

Pacific economies are struggling to cope with growing pressure on the job market as evidenced by the rising rate of youth unemployment.

Youth disaffection with poor economic performance is also a threat to political stability across the Pacific.

Young Pacific women also have tremendous potential to contribute to the development of their communities and the broader Pacific region.
At present, the potential of focussed investment into young women is only beginning to be realised.

Pacific Girl, a new program under Pacific Women, partners with key civil society organisations to deliver targeted programs that empower adolescent girls.

The program also seeks to increase young women’s participation in development and engage with boys, parents, and communities to build environments which encourage greater equality .
The strong focus on young women’s voices informing the direction of Pacific Girl is commendable.

Hundreds of adolescent girls across six countries participated in focus group discussions, online surveys, and the Pacific Girl design workshop .

This provided young women the opportunity to voice their development priorities, including key challenges to their human rights.
Despite its critical work with young people — who are the key agents of social change — Pacific Girl relies on a relatively tiny budget, limiting its potential to facilitate progress toward gender equality.

35 34 In light of these factors, the next phase of Pacific Women would greatly benefit by broadening its program to .
This would see appropriate attention placed on the needs and Pacific Women & Girls ​ capacities of young Pacific women, whilst acknowledging that integral role young women will play in the future of the Pacific, including nations’ recovery from the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Elevating the focus on young women in the Pacific, reflects a more ambitious and sustainable vision for Australia’s partnership with our Pacific neighbours, signalling our long-term commitment to achieving gender equality in the region.

In keeping with this vision, monitoring and evaluation processes must evolve to collect both age and gender disaggregated data, in order to evaluate programs’ impact on young women and men across the Pacific.
With this information, Governments will be better placed to track the progress towards securing the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific and achieving gender equality.

33 Pacific Women: Shaping Pacific Development, “Program overview” 34 Pacific Women: Shaping Pacific Development, “What is Pacific Girl?” 35 Pacific Women: Shaping Pacific Development, “What is Pacific Girl?” Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 26 ​ ​ ​