General News
New publication reveals advances in gender equality
Wednesday 23 October 2013, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) โ Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Imrana Jalal, Senior Social Development Specialist at the Asian Development Bank and former SPC RRRTโs Human Rights Advisor, launching the new publication
The first day of the 12th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women concluded with the launch of a new publication โ Supplement to Law for Pacific Women: A legal rights handbook โ published by the Secretariat of the Pacific Communityโs Regional Rights Resource Team (SPC RRRT).
The publication, launched by former SPC RRRT Human Rights Advisor, Ms. Imrana Jalal, provides an update on how the law affects women in the Pacific today. It updates Ms. Jalalโs 1998 landmark research, published in Law for Pacific Women, which provided the regionโs first picture of how legislation in the Pacific affects women.
'It is only apt that I launch the supplement to the original publication at this womenโs triennial, as Cook Islands was the first country I visited in 1991 when I was undertaking my original research,' Ms Jalal said.
Ms Jalal, who currently works as a Senior Social Development Specialist at the Asian Development Bank, said that the original research undertaken for the Law for Pacific Women was a โlabour of loveโ lasting eight years and was developed with the aim of making the law accessible to non-lawyers, such as womenโs rights activists, government stakeholders and civil society groups.
Ms Jalal remarked on the small size of the new Supplement publication, saying, 'The gains made in gender equality in the legal sector over the last decade have been considerable. This publication is evidence of that. But we must not rest on our laurels, pat ourselves on the back or consider that the goals have been achieved. Legislative frameworks are only the first step and the quest for full gender equality must be reinvigorated and pursued through the resourcing and implementation of gender equality law in order to achieve true substantive equality'.
The Supplement reveals that, since 1998, whilst there has been legislative change in the area of violence against women, such as the passing of domestic violence legislation in several Pacific Island countries, some areas of the law that affect womenโs daily lives are still out-dated, such as in the areas of employment, citizenship, property rights and family law. The new publication provides information on legislative reform in the areas of sexual offences, domestic violence, legal proceedings and evidence, and human trafficking.
Mrs Fekita 'Utoikamanu, SPC Deputy Director-General, in her opening remarks commented, 'Sadly, the publication isnโt bigger โ since 1998, few laws have progressed substantially in some areas of gender equality. So this publication is both a timely reminder of work ahead for all of us, and also a good baseline for measuring progress over the next few years.'
The original publication, Law for Pacific Women: A legal rights handbook (1998) will be made available in e-book form, alongside the Supplement to Law for Pacific Women (2013), thanks to the Fiji Womenโs Rights Movement. For more information, contact Virisila Buadromo, Fiji Womenโs Rights Movement Executive Director on email Virisila@fwrm.org.fj.
This publication would not have been made possible without the partnership with the Fiji Womenโs Rights Movement, and the assistance of key donor partners, the UN Trust Fund to Eliminate VAW, and AusAID. Primary research for this publication was conducted by the Hon. Mere Pulea, former Fiji Family Court Judge.
For more information, please contact Jilda Shem, SPC RRRT Communications Officer on +679 330 5994 or email jildas@spc.int
Additional Information
Country: Cook Islands
Website: N/A
Email: N/A
Phone: N/A
Contact Person: N/A
Source: Pacific Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT)
When: 26/10/2013
