Event: Extreme challenges facing women in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific
A 2013 study by Médecins Sans Frontières found that 70 per cent of women in Papua New Guinea will be raped or physically assaulted in their lifetime. Violence against women is also common in other Pacific Island countries. Women in Australia’s own region are grossly under-represented in their parliaments, comprising only about five per cent of parliamentarians. There is substantial international evidence to show that investing in women and girls produces higher economic growth and better living standards in developing countries. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says supporting the empowerment of women and girls in our region is one of her highest priorities.
Australian Ambassador for Women and Girls, Natasha Stott Despoja AM and award-winning journalist Jo Chandler, in conversation with the Lowy Institute’s Jenny Hayward-Jones will explore the very serious problems facing women in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. Ambassador Stott Despoja will outline the work Australia is doing to promote gender equality in the international arena particularly in the Pacific. Jo Chandler will consider the significant obstacles for women seeking justice in Papua New Guinea.
Natasha Stott Despoja AM was appointed Australia's Ambassador for Women and Girls on 16 December 2013. She is also the founding Chairperson of the Foundation to Prevent Violence Against Women and their Children.
As a former Senator for South Australia (1995-2008) and former Leader of the Australian Democrats, Ambassador Stott Despoja was, at the time of her election, the youngest woman ever to enter the Australian Federal Parliament. She held the positions of Australian Democrats' Leader and Deputy Leader and is the longest-serving Democrat Senator in the party's history. Ambassador Stott Despoja has an enduring interest in women's leadership, particularly political and parliamentary leadership, and recently hosted a dialogue for Pacific women political leaders and policy-makers in the Pacific in Tonga.
Jo Chandler is a freelance journalist with a passion for reporting on Papua New Guinea. She is the author of a forthcoming Lowy Institute publication on women’s access to justice in Papua New Guinea.
Jenny Hayward-Jones is Director of The Myer Foundation Melanesia Program at the Lowy Institute. Prior to joining the Lowy Institute Jenny was an officer in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for thirteen years, serving in the Australian missions in Vanuatu and Turkey. She worked as Policy Adviser to the Special Coordinator of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands from its inception in July 2003 and in 2004. Jenny holds a BA (Hons) in political science from Macquarie University; her Masters thesis for Monash University focused on governance and political change in Vanuatu. Jenny’s interests focus on Australian policy in the Pacific Islands region, political and social change in Melanesia, and the strategic and economic challenges facing Pacific Islands in the Asian century. She is the author of two Policy Briefs on Fiji and several reports from major conferences on regional issues, on PNG and on Solomon Islands that she has convened in Australia, New Zealand and Solomon Islands.
