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Gender-based violence (commonly referred to as violence against women) both reflects and reinforces inequality between men and women

and compromises the health, dignity, security and autonomy of its victims, of which 95% are women and girls. It encompasses a wide range of human rights violations, including sexual abuse

of children, rape, domestic violence, sexual assault and harassment, trafficking of women and girls and several harmful traditional practices. Any one of these abuses can leave deep psychological scars, damage the health of women and girls in general, including their reproductive and sexual health, and in some instances, result in death.

Full review

Swimming Against the Tide

UNFPA Pacific contributed financially and/or techincal assistance towards the completion of the GBV studies in the region and the publication of this report.

Full review

Solomon Islands Family Health and Safety Study

The evidence which we have seen from this report on the Family Health & Safety Study challenges this conception. Two out of three women aged between 15 and 49 years have been abused and the stories about children being abused are unspeakable, yet violence against women and children has often been the subject of continuous denial and suppression by society. We continue

to harbour attitudes that do not conform with what we aspire to be. Society has been slow in condemning violence against women and child abuse as crimes and this is exacerbated by the

fact that violence against women is very much inherent in gender-based inequalities practised by our society. Whoever is in control shapes the destiny of others and in this equation, the most

vulnerable are our women and our children.

Full review

ICPD at 15

There is much quantitative evidence that Pacific Island countries have made progress toward achieving the goals and objectives of the ICPD POA over the past 15 years, but the pace and extent of progress has varied greatly between countries. The countries that have reached or are on track to achieve the ICPD goals and MDGs relating to population are generally the smaller countries that retain a historical relationship with a former or current metropolitan power and/or have found opportunities to participate in overseas labourmarkets. For the most part these are the smaller countries of Polynesia and Micronesia, as well as Fiji.

Full review

Achieving Reproductive Access to Reproductive Health Services & Commodities; and The Pacific Policy Framework 2008 - 2015

Reliable access to contraceptives and other commodities is a fundamental requirement for reproductive health. Yet thousands of women and men in the Pacifi c go without these essentials, leaving them vulnerable to unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections including HIV and the risk of childbirth without basic equipment or medical supplies. While the need for reproductive health products is rising, donor support is declining. During the 1990s, governments and individuals provided 60 per cent of the costs of contraceptives worldwide, while donors covered 40 per cent of the costs. Today, donor support has declined to around 27 per cent of the total.”

Full review

Population ageing in the Pacific Islands

This report provides the first overview of population ageing in the Pacific Islands both at the sub-regional level and in individual countries. The report also reviews the implications of population ageing for social welfare of the elderly and related policy issues that Island governments will face in the coming decades. The UNFPA intends to work with the countries, other international organizations, NGOs and civil society in the future researching these issues in greater detail and assisting the countries of the region to formulate appropriate policies and programmes in a timely manner.

Full review

The Samoa Family Health & Safety Study

The Samoa Family Health and Safety Study (SFHSS) is a component of the larger Pacific Multi-site Study of the Effects of Violence Against Women on Family Health and Safety, which is a joint research initiative of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The Multi-site study follows the methodology of the World Health Organization (WHO) Multi- country Study of Women’s Health and DomesticViolence, and uses questionnaires based on those developed by WHO. The Pacific Multi-site Study was designed to:

• provide detailed information on the prevalence and frequency of different forms of violence in families (defined to include relationships between de facto partners);

• examine risk and protective factors at the household and community level;

• document the health and legal consequences of domestic violence;

• explore strategies and interventions used by victims, families, and communities; and

• assess the impact of attitudes on the preventionand intervention of violence

Full review

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