01/11/2019
Gender and food security in Fiji A community-based gender analysis in Macuata Province, Vanua Levu
This report presents the results of a community-based gender and food security analysis that was carried out by ADRA Fiji in partnership with CARE International with funding from the WPHF, administered and supported by UN Women. The main purpose of the gender analysis is to gain a better understanding of the varying gender dynamics and socio-cultural contexts that can positively and negatively impact household and community food security and resilience in the context of climate change and disasters.
The findings and recommendations of the analysis are intended to strengthen the gender equality impacts of ADRA Fiji’s Vakarau Wai 1 Pro-Resilience Project, as well as inform the agency’s other programming. As part of the wider project the intention is also to more broadly share and discuss the findings to strengthen awareness among food security and livelihood stakeholders that localised social and gender context analysis is critical to ensure effective and sustainable food security in Fiji’s ever-changing climate environment and to also ensure food security and livelihoods (FSL) initiatives, foster gender equality and support women’s meaningful participation in decision-making in homes and communities across Fiji.
For this study data was collected and analysed from two communities, an iTaukei village and a settlement largely comprised of Fijians of Indian descent in Macuata Province, Vanua Levu. The aim was to identify gender specific needs, vulnerabilities and capacities, particularly among high risk and marginalised groups, and how these dimensions affect food security and household and community resilience and women’s empowerment. A total of 71 people (35 female and 36 males) ranging in age from 20 – 83 years old contributed their views for this study, including six people with impairments (four with difficulty walking and two with varying levels of visual impairment), as well as four widows and two widowers. Data was collected in relation to four core areas of inquiry namely: access to and control over resources, gender roles and divisions of labour, household decision-making, and participation in public decision-making, using focus group discussions and key informant interviews, along with several transect walks. Read More...
The findings and recommendations of the analysis are intended to strengthen the gender equality impacts of ADRA Fiji’s Vakarau Wai 1 Pro-Resilience Project, as well as inform the agency’s other programming. As part of the wider project the intention is also to more broadly share and discuss the findings to strengthen awareness among food security and livelihood stakeholders that localised social and gender context analysis is critical to ensure effective and sustainable food security in Fiji’s ever-changing climate environment and to also ensure food security and livelihoods (FSL) initiatives, foster gender equality and support women’s meaningful participation in decision-making in homes and communities across Fiji.
For this study data was collected and analysed from two communities, an iTaukei village and a settlement largely comprised of Fijians of Indian descent in Macuata Province, Vanua Levu. The aim was to identify gender specific needs, vulnerabilities and capacities, particularly among high risk and marginalised groups, and how these dimensions affect food security and household and community resilience and women’s empowerment. A total of 71 people (35 female and 36 males) ranging in age from 20 – 83 years old contributed their views for this study, including six people with impairments (four with difficulty walking and two with varying levels of visual impairment), as well as four widows and two widowers. Data was collected in relation to four core areas of inquiry namely: access to and control over resources, gender roles and divisions of labour, household decision-making, and participation in public decision-making, using focus group discussions and key informant interviews, along with several transect walks. Read More...
Gender Assessment Cash and Voucher Assistance Feasibility Study in the Solomon Islands
Feasibility study partner CARE Australia commissioned a qualitative gender-sensitive analysis to inform the overall development of the Solomon Islands Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) Feasibility Study. The gender analysis was conducted with the support of Oxfam, Save the Children, World Food Programme, CARE Australia, Live and Learn and World Vision with funding support from DFAT through the Australian Humanitarian Partnership (AHP) Disaster Ready Program. The study’s gender analysis is the first evidence produced in the Pacific region that examines the effect of CVA on women’s well-being and empowerment, aligned with the “Agenda for Collective Action” that was agreed following the Cash and Learning Partnership (CaLP) symposium on “Gender and Cash and voucher assistance” in Nairobi, Kenya in February 2018.
There is a growing body of research on the effects of cash and voucher assistance on protection and women’s empowerment outcomes in relation to development programming; however, less so in humanitarian settings and particularly relating to short-term CVA. Cash and voucher assistance is considered to be one of the most significant recent developments in humanitarian assistance, in addition to being poorly understood in some regions, including the Pacific. As a result, it is likely that many interventions fail to capitalize on opportunities to foster positive gender impacts or possibly lead to negative externalities, including gender-based violence affecting women and girls. For these reasons, the rise in CVA in humanitarian programming must be accompanied by an equal interest in ensuring CVA does not cause harm to women and girls or lead to a deterioration of gender relations in the home. It is important to undertake a gender analysis to understand context-specific gender norms and the implications of CVA on men, women, boys, girls, and other vulnerable groups in order to inform effective and high-quality programming. Read More...
There is a growing body of research on the effects of cash and voucher assistance on protection and women’s empowerment outcomes in relation to development programming; however, less so in humanitarian settings and particularly relating to short-term CVA. Cash and voucher assistance is considered to be one of the most significant recent developments in humanitarian assistance, in addition to being poorly understood in some regions, including the Pacific. As a result, it is likely that many interventions fail to capitalize on opportunities to foster positive gender impacts or possibly lead to negative externalities, including gender-based violence affecting women and girls. For these reasons, the rise in CVA in humanitarian programming must be accompanied by an equal interest in ensuring CVA does not cause harm to women and girls or lead to a deterioration of gender relations in the home. It is important to undertake a gender analysis to understand context-specific gender norms and the implications of CVA on men, women, boys, girls, and other vulnerable groups in order to inform effective and high-quality programming. Read More...