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| Solomon Islands/ credit: olli0815 /bigstock.com |
Solomon Islands, the
string of paradise-looking green islands tucked away in the South Pacific, is a
place of exotic beauty where life flows at a gentle pace. But it also a country with one of the highest
rates of violence against women in the world. And the violence is widely accepted as "the way
things are".
A new report by the Equal Rights Trust shows that strong traditions, such as Kastom (Pijin for custom) and Wantok ('one talk') reinforce clan ties, but
also emphasise differences and foster
discrimination on the basis of
ethnicity, gender, disability and sexual orientation.
In particular, the report highlights widespread
discrimination against women, which is directly connected to Kastom - in this
case, the patriarchal attitudes and gender stereotypes typified by the Bigman culture, whereby communities look
to a strong male figure to provide leadership and consider women as inferior to
men.
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Members of Solomon Islands YWCA march during
International Women’s Day in Honiara by DFAT/Credit:Jeremy Miller
“We found that women are
effectively second-class citizens in Solomon Islands; they are invisible in all
areas of politics and government and do not participate equally with men in any
area of life. Violence against women is alarmingly widespread and widely
accepted by both men and women,” said Executive Director of the Equal Rights
Trust, Dr Dimitrina Petrova.
Statistics highlighted in
the report are startling: more than half of all women experienced sexual
violence by an intimate partner and 64% of women between 15 and 49 suffered
violence at home.
During a focus group
discussion for the report, one woman summarised male attitudes towards women in
these terms: “You women are here on earth to give birth and work for us men,
and we are your bosses; so do as we say.”
In travel guides, the
former British protectorate south-east of Papua New Guinea is presented as a
friendly melting pot of cultures and traditions, but the report found serious
discrimination between those of different Wantok,
community groups based on shared linguistic and cultural heritage. “Our research found compelling evidence of
concern amongst Solomon Islanders that those in positions of power abuse their
authority and make corrupt decisions in favour of their Wantok group,” says Petrova.
In addition, the report
found that people with disabilities are perceived as “cursed” and denied
equality of participation in education, employment and healthcare. And lesbian,
gay and bisexual persons are subject
to severe social stigma.
The report argues that if
Solomon Islands is to move on from the civil unrest, which
brought the country to the brink of collapse between 1998 and 2003, its people must stand up and
fight traditions which exacerbate difference on the basis of ethnicity, gender,
disability and sexual orientation.
