Papua New Guinea

Citation:

Authors: Regina Scheyvens, Leonard Lagisa

Abstract:

There are many arguments supporting the need for a reduction of large scale logging and mining activities in Pacific Island countries. In addition to ecological and economic concerns, logging and mining have had significant social impacts, including gendered impacts. Women tend to be excluded from decision-making processes, and they have limited access to royalty payments and business and employment opportunities which emerge. Women also bear a disproportionate share of the responsibility for dealing with the social and environmental mess which accumulates. However, women are not simply passive victims of logging and mining activities, as this discussion of the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea will argue. They are often the first to feel dissatisfaction with logging and mining and it is such dissatisfaction which has fuelled civil unrest, from family break-ups to sabotage of machinery to civil war, in some communities. It may thus be useful for companies to more carefully monitor the effects of their activities on women and involve women more actively in decision-making bodies if they wish to avoid such unrest in the future.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Environment, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Gender Mainstreaming Regions: Oceania Countries: Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands

Year: 1998

Citation:

Macintyre, Martha. 2003. “Petztorme Women: Responding to Change in Lihir, Papua New Guinea.” Oceania 74 (1–2): 120–34. doi:10.1002/j.1834-4461.2003.tb02839.x.

Author: Martha Macintyre

Abstract:

The goldmining project on Lihir Island in New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea, has brought dramatic socio-economic changes. In this matrilineal society, while women's economic contributions were substantial, their political status was not. Women's participation in decision-making about the mine has been restricted, mainly because men have excluded them. The mining company established a women's section that has supported the development of women's organizations and a range of economic development projects. The women's organizations provide the context for new political roles for women but have experienced many setbacks that are common in such groups across Papua New Guinea. Through the Lihir experience in the first five years of the mine, this paper examines the tensions and divided loyalties that constrain women's organizations and often lead to the failure of income-generating women's projects in Papua New Guinea.

Topics: Development, Economies, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Political Participation Regions: Oceania Countries: Papua New Guinea

Year: 2003

Citation:

Author: Susan M. Manning

Abstract:

This article uses the lens of intersectionality to analyze secondary data gathered by international human rights organizations investigating women’s experiences of sexual violence near Barrick Gold’s mine in the Porgera valley of Papua New Guinea. This case study provides an example of how an intersectional framework can be useful to feminist researchers exploring North–South power relationships in the context of resource extraction, by helping us ask nuanced questions about the benefits and costs of resource extraction in the Global South. In this article, intersectionality helps to trace the transnational relationships of power that shape women’s experiences of violence in Porgera, and Barrick Gold’s remediation policy for survivors. Intersectionality serves as a useful tool to map the systems of power at work in Porgera and to make visible the structural violence implicit in the relationship between Canada and Papua New Guinea created by Barrick Gold’s operation.

Keywords: intersectionality, sexual violence, mining, Canada, corporate social responsibility

Topics: Extractive Industries, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Gender Analysis, Gendered Power Relations, Sexual Violence, SV against Women Regions: Americas, North America, Oceania Countries: Canada, Papua New Guinea

Year: 2016

Citation:

Lusby, Stephanie. 2017. "Securitisation, Development and the Invisibility of Gender." In Transformations of Gender in Melanesia, edited by Macintyre Martha and Spark Ceridwen, 23-44. Canberra: ANU Press. 

Author: Stephanie Lusby

Annotation:

"Discussions of violence are ubiquitous in, and with regard to, Papua New Guinea. In this chapter, I discuss how persistent broader contexts of legitimised violence shape efforts to destabilise particular patterns of violence, namely, male violence against women. Looking at the perspectives of men working in the security industry in PNG, I argue that the increased traction and centrality of discourses of securitisation in the name of national development allows violence against men accused of criminal or anti-social behaviour to persist. Critically, the silences around the gendered dimensions of violence between men excused as ‘disciplinary’ produces double standards that are unhelpful to efforts to improve gender equality. Here, I seek to illustrate that narratives of discipline and security form a continuum in discussions of violence, highlighting the need for politicised and holistic approaches to gender in violence interventions" (Lusby, 2017, p. 23).

Topics: Gender, Women, Men, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Security, Male Perpetrators, Violence Regions: Oceania Countries: Papua New Guinea

Year: 2017

Citation:

Zorn, Jean G. 2016. "Translating and Internalising International Human Rights Law: The Courts of Melanesia Confront Gendered Violence." In Gender Violence & Human Rights: Seeking Justice in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, edited by Aletta Biersack, Margaret Jolly, and Martha Macintyre, 229-70. Australia: ANU Press.

Author: Jean G. Zorn

Annotation:

"CEDAW has had a salutary effect on the island nations of the South Pacific, including Papua New Guinea. To say that, however, is not to say very much. To date, CEDAW’s effect has been limited— and the problems of women’s subordination and of widespread, systemic violence against women remain obdurate and intractable. Nevertheless, it is a beginning. Guided by the analyses of Meyersfeld and Koh, who pointed out that the first impact of an international law on the politics, economy and social ordering of any culture will most likely be found in the legal practices of that culture, I sought for evidence of CEDAW in the decisions handed down by judges of the state courts. And, indeed, I found a number of cases—still scattered, but potentially influential—in which judges have not only mentioned CEDAW’s existence, but have actually relied upon it in framing the common law and in applying domestic statutes. In other words, in the Meyersfeld/Koh terminology, judges are aiding the infiltration of this crucially important piece of international law into the domestic legal system" (Zorn, 2016, p. 262).

Topics: Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, International Law, International Human Rights, Rights, Women's Rights, Sexual Violence, SV against Women, Violence Regions: Oceania Countries: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu

Year: 2016

Citation:

Makuwira, Jonathan. 2006. “Aid Partnership in the Bougainville Conflict: The Case of a Local Women’s NGO and Its Donors.” Development in Practice 16 (03–04): 322–33. doi:10.1080/09614520600694927.

Author: Jonathan Makuwira

Abstract:

This article documents lessons learned from a study of aid partnerships in post-conflict development and peace building in Bougainville. It examines how donor agencies, in this case the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) through the International Women's Development Agency (IWDA), contributed to the successes and failures of the Leitana Nehan Women's Development Agency (LNWDA). Although the donors contributed to the organisational development and capacity of the LNWDA, the balance of power remains unequal. Furthermore, the deployment of an intermediary body in the partnership exerts considerable pressure on the LNWDA, because it has to deal with multiple demands for accountability, which affect the impact of its own work on the ground. It is argued that in order to enhance the impact of their assistance, donor agencies need to develop a framework in which partnerships are sustained through mutual and less demanding accountabilities.

Topics: Development, Gender, Women, Humanitarian Assistance, NGOs, Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict Regions: Oceania Countries: Papua New Guinea

Year: 2006

Citation:

Lahiri-Dutt, Kuntala, and Martha Macintyre, eds. 2006. Women Miners in Developing Countries: Pit Women and Others. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.

Authors: Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt, Martha Macintyre

Abstract:

"Bringing together a range of case studies of women miners in Asia, the Pacific Region, Latin America and Africa, this book makes visible the roles and contributions of women as miners. It also highlights the importance of engendering small and informal mining in the developing world as compared to the early European and American mines" (Abstract from WorldCat).

Annotation:

Topics: Development, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women Regions: Africa, Americas, South America, Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Oceania Countries: Bolivia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines

Year: 2006

Citation:

Fife, Wayne. 1995. “Models for Masculinity in Colonial and Postcolonial Papua New Guinea.” The Contemporary Pacific 7 (2): 277-302. 

Author: Wayne Fife

Abstract:

This paper discusses the kinds of models that became available in the colonial context for indigenous men to be men in what eventually became the country of Papua New Guinea. One of the legacies of colonialism and the missionization of masculinity is the development of a new hierarchy of masculine values. These newer norms are in marked contrast to older forms of male effectiveness, and they have helped to define social distinctions within contemporary Papua New Guinea. At the same time, the reality of human behavior spills over the confines of both older and newer cultural norms, and the results can be confusing for individual males. However, individual confusion does not affect the overall saliency of these historically engendered forms of masculinity, nor the importance they may have for the justification of emerging social and economic inequalities within the country.

Topics: Coloniality/Post-Coloniality, Economies, Economic Inequality, Gender, Masculinity/ies, Men, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Patriarchy, Indigenous Regions: Oceania Countries: Papua New Guinea

Year: 1995

Citation:

Shandra, John M., Carrie L. Shandra, and Bruce London. 2008. “Women, Non-Governmental Organizations, and Deforestation: A Cross-National Study.” Population and Environment 30 (1-2): 48–72.

Authors: John M. Shandra, Carrie L. Shandra, Bruce London

Abstract:

There have been several cross-national studies published in the world polity theoretical tradition that find a strong correlation between nations with high levels of environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and low levels of various forms of environmental degradation. However, these studies neglect the role that women’s NGOs potentially play in this process. We seek to address this gap by conducting a cross-national study of the association between women’s NGOs and deforestation. We examine this relationship because deforestation often translates into increased household labor, loss of income, and impaired health for women and, as a result, women’s non-governmental organizations have become increasingly involved in dealing with these problems often by protecting forests. We use data from a sample of 61 nations for the period of 1990–2005. We find substantial support for world polity theory that both high levels of women’s and environmental NGOs per capita are associated with lower rates of deforestation. We also find that high levels of debt service and structural adjustment are correlated with higher rates of forest loss. We conclude with a discussion of findings, policy implications, and possible future research directions.

Keywords: deforestation, women, non-governmental organizations, cross-national

Topics: Economies, Environment, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, NGOs Regions: Africa, MENA, Central Africa, East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa, Americas, Caribbean countries, Central America, North America, South America, Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, Baltic states, Balkans, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Oceania Countries: Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Hungary, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad & Tobago, Uganda, Uruguay, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Year: 2008

Citation:

Franke, Katherine M. 1998. “Putting Sex to Work.” Denver University Law Review 75 (4): 1139–80.

Author: Katherine M. Franke

Topics: Gender, Women, Men, Masculinity/ies, Gender-Based Violence, Health, International Law, International Human Rights, LGBTQ, Nationalism, Race, Religion, Sexual Violence, SV against Men, SV against Women, Sexuality, Violence Regions: Americas, North America, Europe, Balkans, Oceania Countries: Papua New Guinea, United States of America, Yugoslavia (former)

Year: 1998