Fiji

Empowering Pacific women to advance gender-responsive disaster resilience policies. Pacific women leaders from Fiji, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, representing government agencies, civil society organizations (ADRA, DIVA for Equality, FemLINKPACIFIC, and Vanwods), participated in forums, including the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on DRR (APMCDRR) in October 2024 and COP 29 in November 2024, advocating for inclusive DRR frameworks, sustainable climate adaptation and influenced disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate resilience policies at national, regional, and global levels. Supported by the Women�s Resilience to Disasters (WRD) Programme, these women leaders highlighted the Pacific�s vulnerabilities and proposed actionable solutions. With an outcome of their advocacy being enactment of inclusive disaster management legislation in Fiji. At APMCDRR, women leaders emphasized expanding opportunities for Pacific women in forums to enhance networking, capacity-building, and grassroots advocacy. Key priorities included leadership development in DRR, integrating DRR policies into local protection mechanisms in Solomon Islands, and attracting private sector and donor investment to strengthen resilience. A significant result of their advocacy was the enactment of inclusive disaster management legislation on October 4 in Fiji where the Minister of Rural and Maritime Development reaffirmed a strong commitment to inclusive DRR and resilience. As a leader in implementing the Sendai Framework and a pilot country for the Early Warning for All Initiative, Fiji advanced early warning systems and ensured no one was left behind. The �Heritage of Resilience� session, co-hosted by Fiji�s National Disaster Management Office, Ministry of Women, and UN Women, showcased community-driven solutions in DRR policies. At COP 29, Pacific leaders advocated for gender equality and inclusion, emphasizing a rights-based approach in UNFCCC processes. Discussions highlighted the meaningful involvement of vulnerable groups, local communities, and Indigenous Peoples in accessing climate finance, capacity building, and technical support. During the WRD supported �Empowering Women for Climate Resilience� panel which featured leaders from Fiji, Vanuatu, and Solomon Islands showcasing gender-responsive policies, climate finance, and community-led initiatives, Indigenous Advocate Lavenia Naivalu highlighted the role of women in creating sustainable, community-driven climate solutions, including ecosystem restoration, traditional practices revival, and gender-inclusive adaptation plans. By engaging global and regional platforms, Pacific women leaders shaped inclusive policies addressing the vulnerabilities of women, girls, and marginalized groups leading to the enactment of inclusive policies, such as Fiji's disaster management legislation, which contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals by promoting gender equality and resilience in the face of climate change.

Fiji -the second country globally to adopt a National Action Plan on the prevention of violence ! On 2 June 2023, following a process that commenced in 2019, the Government of Fiji launched its first ever National Action Plan to Prevent Violence Against All Women and Girls (Fiji NAP) (2023-2028), with an initial commitment of FJD 1 million from the national budget and a further FJD 6 million from the Government of Australia. This NAP establishes Fiji as the first Pacific Island Country (and the second globally, alongside Australia), to develop a whole-of-government, whole-of-society, inclusive, and costed national action plan on the prevention of violence against women and girls. The Fiji NAP focusses on the dismantling of patriarchal norms and practices which have served to drive gender inequalities and perpetuate different forms of violence against women and girls across Fijian society. The plan aims to be comprehensive in that it reflects to inputs from diverse women, men and youth from different sectors including civil society, faith-based, traditional institutions, the private sector and the disciplined forces. The Fiji NAP directly addresses women and girls who are particularly vulnerable such as women and girls with disabilities, as well as people of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and sex characteristics, and also child sexual abuse. It also addresses masculinities toxic, and the importance of working with men and boys. Lastly it seeks to engage actors in the areas of education, sports, informal sector, faith-based and traditional entities and institutions. UN Women supported the Fiji NAP Technical Working Group which served as custodian to the process, with technical expertise and financing. In addition, in collaboration with the Government of Fiji�s Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection (MWCSP), UN Women supported broad-based consultations on the NAP. This ground-breaking initiative will contribute towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, specifically � namely SDG target 5.2: "Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation." This is one of the priorities under the Pacific UNSDCF (2023-2027) Outcome 2 i.e. By 2027, more people, particularly those at risk of being left behind, benefit from more equitable access to resilient, and gender-responsive, quality basic services, food security/nutrition and social protection systems. The Fijian Government has committed to leveraging this NAP to work at all levels of society, to create a safer environment for women and girls. For UN Women, the medium-term goal is to see this initiative replicated across the Pacific where the prevalence rates of violence against women are up to double the global average, and as such negatively impacted socio-economic and political development.