Oceania

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:

Anderson, Cheryl Lea. 2005. “Decolonizing Disaster: A Gender Perspective of Disaster Risk Management in the United States-Affiliated Pacific Islands.” PhD diss., University of Hawai'i.

Author: Cheryl Lea Anderson

Abstract:

This dissertation explores disaster risk management from a gender perspective in the US-affiliated Pacific Islands where several methodologies from feminism, postcolonialism, and disaster research are placed in conversation. This conversation illuminates elements in the design of risk management policies, programs, and projects that create inequities revealed in disaster. Gender analysis becomes tied to understanding local culture, social conditions, and power related to risk management. This research reveals that few women participate in formal risk management organizations, yet women are participants and leaders in informal risk management activities that contribute to disaster mitigation. The overall structure of disasters and disaster management programs has emerged from the dominant political system, and has been overlaid on island communities. The results of this system alienate marginalized voices from the risk management process, devalue women's work, and ultimately result in continuing colonization through disaster management programs and policies. By increasing awareness of the social inequalities in risk management, it will be possible to engage in risk reduction planning with communities that sets up a process of dialogue between the formal and informal risk management sectors. Attention to the roots of disaster and the process of risk management can help build resiliency to deal with crises.

Topics: Coloniality/Post-Coloniality, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Feminisms, Gender, Gender Analysis, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality Regions: Americas, North America, Oceania Countries: United States of America

Year: 2005

Citation:

Lane, Ruth, and Rebecca McNaught. 2009. “Building Gendered Approaches to Adaptation in the Pacific.” Gender & Development 17 (1): 67–80. doi:10.1080/13552070802696920.

Authors: Ruth Lane, Rebecca McNaught

Abstract:

This article reflects upon how gendered approaches to climate-change adaptation can be strengthened in the Pacific region. The article looks at what has been learnt in the region, surveys some examples of best practice in gender-responsive programming, identifies the challenges we face on our journey, and suggests future directions. It is a collaborative effort, comprising input from a number of agencies who have been proactive in the areas of gender, climate change, and disaster risk-reduction in the Pacific Region, including: the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement in the Pacific region; the UNDP Pacific Centre; and World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) Fiji Country Programme.

Keywords: disaster, climate change, Pacific, gender, community, vulnerability, Risk reduction

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, International Organizations, NGOs Regions: Oceania

Year: 2009

Citation:

Gaillard, J.C., Kristinne Sanz, Benigno C. Balgos, Soledad Natalia M. Dalisay, Andrew Gorman-Murray, Fagalua Smith, and Vaito’a Toelupe. 2016. “Beyond Men and Women: A Critical Perspective on Gender and Disaster.” Disasters 41 (3): 429–47. doi:10.1111/disa.12209.

Authors: J.C. Gaillard, Kristinne Sanz, Benigno C. Balgos, Soledad Natalia M. Dalisay, Andrew Gorman-Murray, Fagalua Smith, Vaito'a Toelupe

Abstract:

Consideration of gender in the disaster sphere has centred almost exclusively on the vulnerability and capacities of women. This trend stems from a polarised Western understanding of gender as a binary concept of man—woman. Such an approach also mirrors the dominant framing of disasters and disaster risk reduction (DRR), emphasising Western standards and practices to the detriment of local, non-Western identities and experiences. This paper argues that the man—woman dichotomy is an insufficient construct with which to address the gendered dimensions of a disaster as it fails to capture the realities of diverse gender minorities in non-Western contexts. The paper presents case studies from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Samoa, where gender minorities display specific patterns of vulnerability associated with their marginal positions in society, yet, importantly, also possess a wide array of endogenous capacities. Recognition of these differences, needs, skills, and unique resources is essential to moving towards inclusive and gender-sensitive DRR.

Keywords: capacity, disaster, gender identity, gender minorities, vulnerability

Topics: Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender Regions: Asia, Southeast Asia, Oceania Countries: Indonesia, Philippines, Samoa

Year: 2016

Citation:

Charan, Dhrishna, Manpreet Kaur, and Priyatma Singh. 2016. “Indigenous Fijian Women’s Role in Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation.” Pacific Asia Inquiry 7 (1): 106–22.

Authors: Dhrishna Charan, Manpreet Kaur, Priyatma Singh

Abstract:

Climate change is progressively being identified as a global challenge and this has immediate repercussions for Fiji Islands due to its geographical location being prone to natural hazards. The intensity and frequency of natural hazards are projected to increase in the future. In light of such projections, climate change adaptation and disaster risk management should form integral structures in any response plans to reduce the vulnerability and increase the resilience to these potentially adverse impacts of climate changes. In the Pacific, it is common to find significant differences between men and women, in terms of their roles and responsibilities. In the pursuit of prudent preparedness before disasters, Fijian women’s engagement is constrained due to socially constructed roles and expectation of women in Fiji. The focus of this study is to outline ways in which indigenous Fijian women can be actively engaged in disaster risk management, articulating in decision-making and empowering them to overcome the existent barriers that limit their capacity to effectively adapt to a changing climate. The study aims at highlighting social constraints that limit women’s access to practical disaster management strategic plan. This paper outlines the importance of gender mainstreaming in disaster risk reduction and the ways of mainstreaming gender based on a literature review. It analyses theoretical study of academic literature as well as papers and reports produced by various national and international institutions and explores ways to better inform and engage women for climate change per ser disaster management in Fiji.

Keywords: climate change, women empowerment, social constraints, gender mainstreaming, Disaster Risk Management

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Gender Roles, Men, Women, Gender Mainstreaming, Indigenous Regions: Oceania Countries: Fiji

Year: 2016

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: Katrina Lee-Koo

Abstract:

This article examines Australia’s National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) within the context of global debates on the implementation of UNSCR 1325 and its associated resolutions. It demonstrates that Australia has made a strong rhetorical commitment to the United Nations WPS agenda that aligns itself with global feminist goals to enhance the protection and political participation of women in conflict-affected regions. Rhetorically, Australia also supports a broad conceptualisation of global security that challenges the gender relations that create women’s insecurity. However, these words fail the test of practice. The 2012 Australian NAP lacks the architecture to ensure strong, consistent, and comprehensive action on the WPS agenda. This article explores the sites of these failures and argues that addressing these issues is the first necessary step towards reconnecting government rhetoric with WPS outcomes.

Keywords: Australia, National Action Plan, UNSCR 1325, global security

Topics: Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Conflict, Peace and Security, Peacebuilding, Political Participation, Security, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325 Regions: Oceania Countries: Australia

Year: 2016

Citation:

George, Nicole. 2016. “Institutionalising Women, Peace and Security in the Pacific Islands: Gendering the ‘Architecture of Entitlements’?” International Political Science Review 37 (3): 375-89. 

Author: Nicole George

Abstract:

Keywords: women, peace and security, gender politics, Pacific Islands, peacebuilding, environmental security

Topics: Environment, Gender, Women, Peace and Security, Peacebuilding, Security, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, Security Sector Reform Regions: Oceania

Year: 2016

Citation:

Author: Dean Laplonge

Abstract:

Topics: Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Men, Gender Roles, Gender Analysis, Gendered Discourses Regions: Oceania Countries: Australia

Year: 2016

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