Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1694859622830.pdf (Australia)
INQUIRY INTO HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN THE PACIFIC SUBMISSION BY THE WE RISE COALITION 24 AUGUST 2020 JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEFENCE AND TRADE Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 33 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendations to strengthen Australia’s contributions to gender equality in the Pacific (see page 14):  Recommendation 13: By 2022, adopt a feminist foreign policy framework to guide Australia’s international engagement covering trade, diplomacy, defence, security to ensure the resilience of Australia and the Pacific region.
 Recommendation 14: Unlock AUD 33 million for WROs annually by committing 5% of Australia’s development cooperation for Pacific regional and bilateral programs towards women’s rights organisations, groups and networks.

 Recommendation 15: Encourage funders, including peer bi-laterals and private foundations, to improve the accessibility of grant funding for WROs and to fund WROs directly.
Increased co- contributions to WROs and/or a regional fund would serve to expand, diversify and support the ongoing availability of resources available to tackle the complexity of women’s human rights and gender equality concerns in the Pacific.

 Recommendation 16: Pursue a multi-year Pacific regional program with the primary objective of working for transformative change to advance gender equality and diverse women’s rights.

Within such a program ensure that: a.


The 6 year evaluation of Pacific Women is made publically available, so that the design of future investments and actions is accountable to the learning and findings of the evaluation; b.

Funding focuses on multi-year organisational core costs, as well as project level funding, across a diversity of WROs.
This two tiered focus enables organisations to survive, thrive and act on entrenched and emerging women’s rights and gender equality challenges; c. Investment is directed to WROs led by and for Pacific women.
This should be achieved through a benchmark of at least a quarter (25%) of the budget reaching Pacific WROs with track records of taking rights-based actions for gender equality; d. Funding decisions should be endorsed by national and regional level Steering Committees, with participation of DFAT Bilateral and Regional teams and relevant country stakeholders with strong track records and knowledge related to women’s rights and gender equality.
This ensures funds are disbursed based on the basis of a competitive and external grant review process.

 Recommendation 17: Building on the experience of the Fiji Women’s Fund, co-contribute to the creation of a dedicated, independent regional Pacific Women’s Fund with flexible funding to sustain the transformative work of diverse Pacific women, organisations, groups and networks.
Such an independent fund would complement a multi-year regional program involving WROs, Government, multilaterals and bi-lateral agencies, by enabling targeted reach and support to diverse WROs across the Pacific.

 Recommendation 18: Invest in the quality and transparency of funding data to better track and analyse the flow of funding to WROs.
We Rise Coalition Submission to the Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific 2 Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 33 Recommendations to strengthen human rights outcomes for women in girls in particular areas of concern (see pages 7-12): GENDER BASED VIOLENCE  Recommendation 1: Prioritise flexible, multi-year core and project funding to diverse women’s rights organisations (WROs) to support them to provide accessible, integrated survivor services and comprehensive gender based violence (GBV) prevention work, including national and community-based advocacy work that targets social norms and attitudes concerning gender equality and freedom from violence.
 Recommendation 2: Commit funds to strengthen and support the review, strengthening and introduction of new policies and legislation to support GBV prevention in private and public domains, and appropriate training for officers in front line and formal justice sectors.

 Recommendation 3: Resource national and regional cooperation between Pacific Island Governments, WROs and multilateral agencies to strengthen and expand measures to address GBV in the home, workplace and community.
LEADERSHIP  Recommendation 4: Promote the meaningful engagement of WROs in local, national and regional processes to develop COVID-19 response and recovery plans, including those of the Australian Government, to ensure plans reflect the priorities of women and girls and do not create or exacerbate risks to marginalised groups.
 Recommendation 5: Move beyond a ‘protection’ approach for women and girls, by investing in gender equality and transformational change through the implementation of Partnerships for Recovery — Australia’s COVID-19 Development Response.
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT  Recommendation 6: Promote and support comprehensive social protection systems in Pacific Island States that target the most vulnerable, achieve universal coverage, and ensure immediate human security needs are met without undermining the long-term health of public financial systems.
 Recommendation 7: Promote and support the collection of sex, disability, age, location and gender-identity disaggregated data for all COVID-19 response activities, by Pacific Island Governments and Australian aid development partners.

Data should examine the participation of women in COVID-19 responses, as well as differing economic dimensions, care burden, and incidences of GBV.
 Recommendation 8: Commit funding for WROs that work with women and girls to strengthen economic literacy and participation, including through individual and cooperative livelihoods and savings initiatives.
 Recommendation 9: Fund the delivery of grants, through Pacific Island Governments and/or a multi-year Pacific regional women’s program, for women to re-skill for, and small businesses to pivot to, emerging markets that enable local, inclusive and green growth, including cultural livelihood approaches.
We Rise Coalition Submission to the Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific 3 Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 33 CLIMATE CHANGE  Recommendation 10: Urgently revise and communicate an updated Nationally Determined Contribution to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that is consistent with a pathway for national deep decarbonisation and net zero emissions by 2050.
 Recommendation 11: Commit funding for WROs which support women leaders to participate in climate and disaster risk reduction institutions and advocacy at all levels, with particular attention to young and rural women leaders, and leaders from intersectional marginalised groups.
 Recommendation 12: Commit funding for Pacific Island Governments, WROs and multilateral agencies to strengthen institutional settings, including Women’s Machineries and Gender Focal Points, that have been found to enable the participation of diverse women in climate financing and policy setting.

We Rise Coalition Submission to the Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific 4 Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 33 1.
INTRODUCTION This joint submission is made by the We Rise Coalition, which is the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM), femLINKpacific, and the International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA).1 We welcome the opportunity to present this submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.
Across the Pacific, inadequate legal frameworks, coupled with restricted institutional governance and conservative community attitudes create barriers to the promotion and protection of gender equality and women’s human rights.

The Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has exacerbated this situation, altering the landscape for diverse women and girls in the Pacific,2 and in turn, how Australia engages with women’s rights organisations and movements towards gender equality.
Globally, women represent a high proportion of formal and informal care workers, therefore experiencing higher care demands during a crisis and a greater risk of exposure to infection.
Women are more likely to be in part-time, insecure work without adequate social protection, and are at greater risk of spikes in gender based violence during times of social stress.iii Through this crisis, diverse women’s rights organisations, groups, networks and movements (henceforth grouped under the acronym WROs) continue to advocate for gender equality and provide services to protect the rights of women and girls across the Pacific.
Facing reduced funding and restricted operating environments, WROs continue to find new ways to stay open through the crisis, and thrive in a future redefined by COVID-19.

Despite enormous challenges in their communities and disruptions to their operations due to COVID-19, WROs are responding to the concurrent health, security and economic crises.

Pacific WROs have secured access to support services for survivors of gender-based violence, advocated for strengthened social protection and security schemes.
They have provided information, communication and education materials to women, communities and governments to assist with all areas of the response.

WRO’s are at the front line of the COVID-19 response, and are working across sectors to ensure gender responsive national response and recovery efforts.

1 The We Rise Coalition is ongoing partnership between feminist organisations working to advance gender equality and women’s human rights in the Pacific.
Together, the Coalition implement a multi-year program of work funded through the Australian Aid funded Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development program.

2 The We Rise Coalition advocates for the rights of girls, women and people of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions.

This submission refers to “women and girls”, by which we mean all people who identify as women and girls.
We Rise Coalition Submission to the Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific 5 Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 33 Collaborating for gender wise responses to COVID-19: Diverse WROs in Fiji, including Diverse Voices and Action (DiVA) for Equality and the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement (FWRM), have been a central part of the COVID-19 Response Gender Working Group, advising the Government of Fiji on the gendered impacts of COVID-19 and necessary national responses.
At the same time, a Gender-Based Violence Working Group co-led with the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) has worked in partnership with frontline service providers to develop resource kits and virtual training for frontline health care workers and GBV responders, to ensure access to essential health services is maintained during the COVID-19 and Tropical Cyclone Herald emergency response period.

COVID-19 represents a significant threat to vulnerable people globally.
The crisis also presents an opportunity to centre the rights of women and girls throughout the Pacific Step-Up, and reimagine the role of Australia in helping to transform gender equality across our region.

In this submission, we highlight the ways that the Australian Government could strengthen its approach to women’s rights and gender equality, through working with WROs and feminist movements, in order to improve the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific.
In response to the inquiry terms of reference, this submission will focus on:  The human rights situation facing women and girls, particularly in the context of COVID-19,  The role of women rights organisations and feminist movements in responding to this situation  Recommendations for how Australia might best respond to the human rights situation facing women and girls, including through the Pacific Step Up.
We Rise Coalition Submission to the Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific 6 Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 33 2.

THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION FACING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN THE PACIFIC The Pacific is a region of diverse and vibrant cultures, identities and realities, particularly for women and girls.
Women and girls face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination based on where they live, their class or socio-economic status, ethnicity, ability, age, sexual orientation, and gender identity and expression.

Patriarchal social norms and gender-based discrimination hinder participation in public and private life, and strip women and girls of their human rights.
Increasingly restrictive and harmful ecological and economic conditions in climate frontlines States shape the present and future realities of women and girls.

In the face of these challenges, Pacific women and girls are connected and organised for collective advocacy, learning and action.
In our experience, the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific are particularly hindered by gender based violence; discriminatory leadership and democratic norms; limited political and economic rights and participation in times of peace, conflict, disaster relief and recovery; and the destabilising effects of our rapidly changing climate.
2.1 Gender based violence Across the Pacific, gender based violence (GBV) is a significant barrier to women’s health, well- being, safety and security in their homes, workplaces and communities.

Experiences of violence are pervasive and vary according to the ability, age, location, sexual orientation or gender expression of diverse women.
According to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), women’s safety in Pacific countries continues to fall behind the wider Asia Pacific region, comprising the five countries with the highest proportion of women experiencing physical and/or sexual violence in the region.iii Studies in Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and Fiji have estimated that around two thirds of women and girls have experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.iv A 2019 study highlighted that women with disabilities in Solomon Islands experience physical violence more often from family members, while women without disabilities are more likely to experience violence from an intimate partner.v Young women are at a higher risk of experiencing intimate partner violence, particularly sexual violence.vi A study across Fiji from 2015-2019 found 84% of lesbians, bisexual women, transmasculine and gender non-conforming people have experienced physical and/sexual violence from an intimate partner, while 82% had been displaced from their home by family members.vii Restrictions associated with COVID-19 have exacerbated the risks and rate of GBV while hindering the ability of survivors to reach support services.
The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre recorded a spike in reports of domestic violence across Fiji since a curfew was introduced to limit the risk of COVID-19 transmission.viii A recent joint submission by WROs in Papua New Guinea documents a wide range of factors driving increased rates of GBV under COVID- 19, including loss of work, increased volatility within households, and multiple barriers to survivors trying to access support services or limited justice, telecommunications access, and reduced presence and/or accountability of law enforcement officials.ix limited public transport, including formal We Rise Coalition Submission to the Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific 7 Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 33 There are also significant gaps in Pacific legal systems.
Only three Pacific Island States criminalise marital rape (Samoa, Fiji and Solomon Islands), and only four have legislation to address sexual harassment in the workplace (Fiji, Kiribati, Palau and Solomon Islands).x These gaps limit options for prevention of, protection from and responses to GBV.
For example, in Papua New Guinea, over 80% of survivors of GBV seek assistance through informal networks, including familial and kinship relationships, rather than formal justice services.xi This situation demonstrates the need for expanded attention to comprehensive GBV support and prevention services, and for diverse women to be present for policy setting and institutional responses to GBV in the Pacific.
WRO’s are at the fore front of efforts to prevent and respond during times of crisis and ongoing, and are best placed to roll-out out adaptive, locally-relevant responses.

However, such necessary responses can only be enabled through adequate, core and flexible resourcing available and suitable to WROs.

Recommendations: 1.
Recommendations: 1.

Prioritise flexible, multi-year core and project funding to WROs to support them to provide accessible, integrated survivor services and comprehensive GBV prevention work, including national and community-based advocacy work that targets social norms and attitudes concerning gender equality and freedom from violence.

2.
2.

Commit funds to strengthen and support the review, strengthening and introduction of new policies and legislation to support GBV prevention in private and public domains, and appropriate training for officers in front line and formal justice sectors.

3.

Resource national and regional cooperation between Pacific Island Governments, WROs and multilateral agencies to strengthen and expand measures to address GBV in the home, workplace and community.
2.2 Leadership Times of crisis amplify existing inequalities.

While Pacific countries have so far escaped the severe health impacts of COVID-19, the devastating economic and social implications of this crisis are disproportionately impacting the human rights of women and girls.
The rights of women and girls is recognised in Partnerships for Recovery: Australia’s COVID-19 Development Response, which has made “protecting the most vulnerable, especially women and girls” a cross-cutting action for the whole-of-Government international response.xii To support meaningful and sustainable change, Australia must look beyond protection.

Protection is a minimally viable situation, which focuses on the symptoms of gender inequality, rather than the cause.
As one of the Pacific’s strongest allies, the implementation of Australia’s COVID-19 Development Response presents an opportunity for Australia to continue to support transformational interventions, by ensuring policies and programs contribute to challenging power relations, systems and norms that underpin gender inequality.
We Rise Coalition Submission to the Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific 8 Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 33 Further, inequity is multidimensional for many groups, including rural women, women living with a disability, and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI) community.
We continue to see that diverse women are at the forefront of any crisis response, informing and driving sustainable change, yet the importance and impact of their leadership is chronically unrecognised.

The leadership of women and girls is crucial to addressing immediate risks in times of crisis, including increased rates of GBV and insecure livelihoods, and for building sustainable peace and security in times of uncertainty.
Recognition of women’s leadership during a crisis can transform discriminatory gender norms and practices.

Pacific women play a myriad of leadership roles in their communities, which is reflected in the results of two recent studies into public perceptions of women in politics conducted in Fiji,xiii and Solomon Islands,xiv which found significant public support for more women in politics, from both men and women.
The work of WROs has not only enabled this public support, but is critical to translating support for women in politics into reality.
As of May 2020, the Pacific Island countries have the lowest level of women in national parliaments with an average of 6.7%,xv compared to a global average of 25%.xvi Papua New Guinea, Kiribati and Vanuatu are three out of eleven countries in the world which have no women in the national Parliament.xvii Gender insensitive policies and responses to COVID-19 are both caused by, and exacerbate, the absence of women’s equal, full and effective participation in political, private and public life, leadership and decision-making.
It is concerning that DFAT country level plans being introduced under the new COVID-19 Development Response policy are reportedly being drafted in haste and without external consultation.

Australia is well placed diplomatically with Pacific Island Governments, and in its own response to the pandemic, to mitigate the risk of gender insensitive policies by enabling the participation of diverse women, WROs and other marginalised groups in the development of COVID-19 response and recovery plans.
This inclusion would build on work that women already lead in their communities, and in doing so, ensure that recovery plans are informed by local realities and better able to meet immediate and ongoing needs emerging from the COVID-19 crisis.

Recommendations: 4.
Recommendations: 4.

Promote the meaningful engagement of WROs in local, national and regional processes to develop COVID-19 response and recovery plans, including those of the Australian Government, to ensure plans reflect the priorities of women and girls and do not create or exacerbate risks to marginalised groups.

5.
5.

Move beyond a ‘protection’ approach for women and girls, by investing in gender equality and transformational change through the implementation of Partnerships for Recovery: Australia’s COVID-19 Development Response.
We Rise Coalition Submission to the Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific 9 Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 33 2.3 Economic rights and participation There are multiple and compounding barriers to women’s full and equal economic participation.

These barriers are exacerbated by the degradation of local ecosystems and the climate system, and restrictions imposed in response to COVID-19.
Women are over-represented in insecure paid work, especially in subsistence livelihoods and export- oriented industries that have been decimated by coral bleaching, extreme weather events, and recent travel and trade restrictions.xviii Rural women at the 13th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women (October 2017) identified the challenges of participating in local productive economies, including the lack of facilities for women traders in local markets, vulnerability to violence while travelling to and working at markets, and discriminatory gender norms that inhibit access to financial resources.
Over representation in informal or unstable work coupled with the persistent gender gap in social protection spending in the Pacific means that women are the least secure in times of environmental and economic crises.xix Gendered economic vulnerability is compounded by other aspects and expressions of identity.

States and development agencies must pay attention to how economic policies differently impact people who experience multiple kinds of risk and marginalisation.
Women occupy important frontline roles as health care workers, increasing their risk and exposure to infection.xx Women also bear primary responsibility for unpaid care work in their families and communities,xxi which reduces the time available for paid work and personal care.xxii Women who are reliant on other, often male, family members for cash are vulnerable to deprivation and violence within households where discriminatory gender norms are present, especially in times of crisis.xxiii Community and household care roles, disproportionately held by women, are intrinsically linked with and enable the productive economy.xxiv To ensure a robust and sustainable economic recovery, and to correct institutional barriers to women’s economic independence, unpaid care work must be reflected in microeconomic and macroeconomic recovery policies.
The Pacific Platform for Action on Gender Equality and Women’s Human Rights 2018-2030 commits Pacific Island Governments to review legislation that limits women’s access to finance, assets, land and productive resources.

Efforts to improve women’s economic empowerment will be incomplete unless the care economy is explicitly recognised and integrated in legal reviews and economic policy.xxv Recommendations: 6.
Promote and support comprehensive social protection systems in Pacific Island States that target the most vulnerable, achieve universal coverage, and ensure immediate human security needs are met without undermining the long-term health of public financial systems.

7.

Promote and support the collection of sex, disability, age, location and gender-identity disaggregated data for all COVID-19 responses, by Pacific Island Governments and Australian aid development partners.
Data should examine the participation of women in COVID-19 responses, as well as differing economic dimensions, care burden, and incidences of GBV.

We Rise Coalition Submission to the Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific 10 Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 33 8.
Commit funding for WROs that work with women and girls to strengthen economic literacy and participation, including through individual and cooperative livelihoods and savings initiatives.

9.

Fund the delivery of grants, through Pacific Island Governments and/or a multi-year Pacific regional women’s program, for women to re-skill for, and small businesses to pivot to, emerging markets that enable local, inclusive and green growth, including cultural livelihood approaches.
2.4 Climate change Global heating, already equal to approximately 1°C above pre-industrial levels, has caused significant loss and damage to Pacific communities and livelihoods.xxvi This loss and damage disproportionately impacts women and girls.
The 2018 Boe Declaration on Regional Security, signed by Australia alongside other Pacific Island Forum States, identified climate change as “the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific.”xxvii Rapid and slow-onset climate impacts decimate livelihoods, displace communities, increase the risk of GBV, and severely impact the ability of communities to respond to ongoing health crises, including GBV and COVID-19.xxviii Increased violence against women and people of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations in the aftermath of natural disasters is well documented.xxix Women are at the forefront of organising their families and communities for disaster preparedness and adaptation efforts, and yet they lack control over household resources and are excluded from formal positions of leadership within community and national governance structures.xxx Discriminatory gender norms and structures exacerbate climate risks for women and girls, and gender inequality will be further entrenched by run-away climate impacts and policy interventions that are not informed by a feminist analysis.xxxi Conversely, there is mounting evidence that the meaningful engagement of women and girls in climate policy and finance processes enhances the effectiveness and impact of interventions, including through the realisation of greater co-benefits.xxxii Engagement pathways are highly contextual, however, a recent report suggests that strengthening institutional settings, including national women’s machineries and Gender Focal Points within national climate entities, and ensuring women are engaged in the design of interventions enhances both women’s participation and program outcomes.xxxiii An Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on the impacts of 1.5°C of warming recently confirmed that the safety and productivity of climate vulnerable regions, including many Pacific Islands, depends on immediate and ambitious efforts to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions globally by 2050.xxxiv So too, does gender equality.
Under the Paris Agreement, Australia has committed to the international effort to hold global average temperatures to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, while pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C and contributing to international finance flows consistent with low-carbon, climate-resilient development.xxxv International cooperation guided by the principle of common but differentiated responsibility is a critical enabler of the ambitious, multi-scalar action required to achieve these goals.xxxvi We Rise Coalition Submission to the Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific 11 Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 33 Australia is uniquely placed to both address the driver of anthropogenic climate change and commit long-term finance for Pacific Island governments to implement inclusive, low-carbon and climate-resilient development pathways.
Recommendations: 10.

Urgently revise and communicate an updated Nationally Determined Contribution to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that is consistent with a pathway for national deep decarbonisation and net zero emissions by 2050.

11.
11.

Commit funding for WROs which support women leaders to participate in climate and disaster risk reduction institutions and advocacy at all levels, with particular attention to young and rural women leaders, and leaders from intersectional marginalised groups.

12.
12.

Commit funding for Pacific Island Governments, WROs and multilateral agencies to strengthen institutional settings, including Women’s Machineries and Gender Focal Points, that have been found to enable the participation of diverse women in climate financing and policy setting.

3.
3.

THE ROLE OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS IN PROTECTING AND ENABLING THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS Evidence shows that women’s rights activism and movements are the key drivers of legal and policy change to address women’s human rights and gender inequality.
Research over three decades (1975- 2005) in 70 countries found the mobilisation of autonomous feminist movements is more effective in combating GBV than the wealth of nations, political parties, or the number of women politicians.xxxvii Some of the most important advances in women’s rights have been secured through the efforts of women’s movements.
This includes the adoption of international treaties such as the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action, Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, which are strongly supported by the Australian Government and have the mutual agreement of a majority of Pacific Island Governments.3 Despite these significant achievements, WROs and feminist movement actors continue to be under resourced and under recognised, fighting to operate in times of crisis and amidst shrinking space for civil society.
The past decade has seen growing interest from donors in investing in women and girls as key agents of change.

Institutions such as the World Bank, large private foundations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations, bilateral donors and large international NGOs have expanded their focus on women and girls.

Despite this interest, the funding situation specifically to women’s rights organisations has not improved.xxxviii 3 CEDAW has not been ratified by Tonga and Palau.
We Rise Coalition Submission to the Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific 12 Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 33 The most recent available data shows only 1.6% of total Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) DAC member countries’ aid projects targeting gender equality and women’s empowerment went directly to women’s equality organisations and institutions.4 While “aid integrating gender equality is increasing overall, funding for dedicated gender equality programs is lagging behind”.
xxxix In particular, funds are not reaching WROs in ways sufficient to impact entrenched and long-standing gender inequality.
A report launched by Urgent Action Fund Asia and Pacific and Fiji Women’s Fund in 2020 found that from the 1.6 billion USD in gross aid disbursements to the Pacific by OECD DAC members in 2017, 13.3 million USD gross disbursements were made to WROs, of which only 2.5 million USD gross disbursements were made directly to local, Pacific WROs.
This glaring data confirms the need for resources to be channelled through localised models, such as a regional Pacific women’s fund that can enhance gender equality work across a myriad of fronts.

The complementary approach of a regional program of the Australian aid program and an independent regional women’s fund will solidify and enable targeted resource reach to the Pacific region.

4.
4.

TRANSFORMING GENDER EQUALITY IN THE PACIFIC Australia has demonstrated a sustained commitment to addressing the human rights challenges facing women and girls in the Pacific.
Australia has provided over 71% of all funding to gender equality and women’s empowerment programmes in the Pacific over the last nine years and 95% of funding to WROs in the Pacific region over the last five years.xl The effects of DFAT’s twin-track approach to gender equality in Australia’s foreign policy, economic diplomacy and development program has also been demonstrated through the Office of the Ambassador of Gender Equality.
The creation of the position of Ambassador for Gender Equality (originally the Ambassador for Women and Girls), has signalled Australia’s strong commitment to promoting women’s rights around the world.

Successive Ambassadors have used this position to champion a focus on gender equality and the rights of women and girls through Australia’s engagements globally, and in the Indo-Pacific region.
Key gender equality investments in the Pacific, in particular through Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development (Pacific Women), are notable in this regard.

Pacific Women has assisted thousands of women to step into leadership roles, participate in financial services and training, and access crisis support services.

Crucially, Pacific Women has demonstrated the effectiveness of ongoing, multi-year funding to support WROs’ core functions while enabling opportunities for expansion and action.
4 Calculated from data from OECD Creditor Reporting System.

http://stats.oed.org.
We Rise Coalition Submission to the Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific 13 Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 33 Transformative impact of flexible, core funding: Lorio Sisiolo, the Central Manager of the Family Support Centre (FSC), the only free GBV counselling and legal service provider in Solomon Islands, emphasised that “multi-year core funding facilitated by Pacific Women has enabled FSC to grow the size and skills base of its staff, and strengthen its human resource and financial systems.
The unprecedented flexibility of this funding has allowed FSC to tailor organisational strengthening efforts to long-standing and emerging needs, which has in turn strengthened the scope and impact of FSC’s client-facing and community building work.
For the first time, FSC has expanded services to women and girls in provinces with limited access to survivor support services, and started working with Male Advocates.” Against these successful foundations, it is significant that Australia’s funding to gender equality and women’s empowerment in the Pacific reached a peak in 2011 at USD 569 million and has dropped to USD 416 million in 2017.xli Further, an evaluation of Pacific Women in 2017 found many respondents felt the program lacked mechanisms enabling substantive ownership from Pacific women and WROs, which is required to sustain the benefits from investments.xlii As COVID-19 destabilises households and the Pacific region, continued investment in gender equality, directed at WROs, will be crucial to addressing any ongoing economic instability.
The ‘Pacific Step-up’ presents an entry point for Australia to re-imagine and redefine a global precedent of leadership in areas of gender equality and women’s rights.
In line with a call from Foreign Affairs Ministers around the world, including Minister Payne, to make gender equality a top priority in global COVID-19 responses – now and ongoing - adopting a feminist foreign policy would place Australia at the forefront of efforts to promote women’s and girls’ rights globally, and demonstrate our ongoing commitment to human rights and regional stability.
A whole-of-government feminist foreign policy by 2022 would solidify this commitment, enabling gender equality to be integrated across all aspects of foreign policy, including diplomacy and international development cooperation, but also trade, defence, migration and multilateral engagement.

Recommendations: 13.

By 2022, adopt a feminist foreign policy framework to guide Australia’s international engagement.
This framework should cover trade, diplomacy, defence, security to ensure the resilience of Australia and the Pacific region.

14.

Unlock AUD 33 million for WROs annually by committing 5% of Australia’s development cooperation for Pacific regional and bi-lateral programs towards diverse women’s rights organisations, groups and networks.
We Rise Coalition Submission to the Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific 14 Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 33 15.

Encourage funders, including peer bi-laterals and private foundations, to improve the accessibility of grant funding for WROs and to fund WROs directly.
Increased co-contributions to WROs and/or a regional fund would serve to expand, diversify and support the ongoing availability of resources available to tackle the complexity of women’s rights and gender equality concerns in the Pacific.

16.

Pursue a multi-year Pacific regional program with the primary objective of working for transformative change to advance gender equality and diverse women’s rights.

Within such a program ensure that: a.


The recently conducted 6 year evaluation of Pacific Women is made publically available, so that the design of future investments and actions is accountable to the learning and findings of the evaluation; b.

Funding focuses on multi-year organisational core costs, as well as project level funding, across a diversity of women’s organisations, groups and networks.
This two tiered focus enables organisations to survive, thrive and act on entrenched and emerging women’s rights and gender equality challenges; c. Adopt a targeted approach to investment in WROs led by and for Pacific women.
This should be achieved through a benchmark of at least a quarter (25%) of the budget reaching Pacific women’s and girls’ rights organisations, groups and networks with track records of taking rights-based actions for gender equality; d. Funding decisions should be endorsed by national and regional level Steering Committees, with participation of DFAT Bilateral and Regional teams and relevant country stakeholders with strong track records and knowledge related to women’s rights and gender equality.
This ensures funds are disbursed based on a competitive and external grant review process.

17.

Building on the experience of the Fiji Women’s Fund, co-contribute to the creation of a dedicated, independent regional Women’s Fund with flexible funding to sustain the transformative work of diverse Pacific women, organisations, groups and networks.
Such an independent fund would complement a multi-year regional program involving WROs, Government, multilaterals and bi- lateral agencies, by enabling targeted reach and support to diverse WROs across the Pacific.

18.

Invest in the quality and transparency of funding data to better track and analyse the flow of funding to WROs.
We Rise Coalition Submission to the Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the Pacific 15 Inquiry into the human rights of women and girls in the PacificSubmission 33 ENDNOTES i UN Women.

2020. ii ILO.

2018. iii UNESCAP 2020, p 41. iv The Asia Foundation.

2016; Darko, E., Smith, W., and Walker, D. 2015; FWCC.

2013. v The Equality Institute.

2019. p.29.

vi Ibid.

vii Diverse Voices and Action for Equality.

2019. viii Radio National New Zealand.

2020. ix EHFV, WBCA, VfC, Femili PNG.


2020. x The Equality Institute.

2019. p.28.

xi Tomas, V., Kauli, J., and Rawstorne, P. 2017. xii Australian Government.

2020. xiii FWF and IWDA.

2014. xiv WRAM and IWDA.

2019. xv Inter Parliamentary Union.

2020. xvi IPU Parline.

2019. xvii Inter Parliamentary Union.

2019. xviii Abbott, D. and Handayani, S. W. 2019. xix Asia Development Bank.

2019. xx CARE.

2020. xxi IWDA.

2020a.

xxii Asia Development Bank.


2019. xxiii COVID-19 Response Gender Working Group.

2020.; EHFV, WBCA, VfC, Femili PNG.

2020. xxiv See the discussion of a feminist view of the economy in Sen, K. 2020. xxv IWDA.

2020a.

xxvi IPCC.

2018a.

para.3.4.5.3.

xxvii Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Declaration 2018. xxviii Terry, G. 2009. p.5.

xxix Dwyer & Woolf 2018. xxx CARE.

2020. xxxi Eastin, J.

2018. p.191.

xxxii WEDO and CIF, 2020. p. 8. xxxiii Ibid.

p. 10. xxxiv IPCC.

2018b.

p.23.

xxxv UNFCCC.


2016; Pacific Island Forum.

2018. xxxvi IPCC.

2018b.

p.23.

xxxvii Htun & Wheldon 2012. xxxviii IWDA.

2016. xxxix GENDERNET.

2018. p.3-4.

xl Sumner, Cate.

2020. p.11.

xli Ibid.

xlii ITAD.

2017. p.21.

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