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Reaching into the Bilum Motherhood as a Source of Women’s Power in Papua New Guinea
In Papua New Guinea, it is primarily through being ‘good’ wives, mothers and household managers that women become valued. This situation can leave young women and those who do... -
Sorcery and Witchcraft in Papua New Guinea: Problems in Definition
This short paper looks at how the terms ‘sorcery’ and ‘witchcraft’ are frequently fused or used interchangeably, and are rarely conceptually distinguished. This blurring of the... -
Witchcraft and Sorcery Related Killings in Melanesia: The Legal Issues
This short paper identifies four central insights from a legal positive perspective into killings related to sorcery and witchcraft accusations: The belief in sorcery and... -
Violence Against Women in PNG: How Men Are Getting Away With Murder
The women of Papua New Guinea endure some of the most extreme levels of violence in the world. They continue to be attacked with impunity despite their government’s promises of... -
‘A Woman Should Be Beaten If She Deserves Punishment’: Conversations with...
Among the consequences of conflict over gender roles or norms, the most disempowering one is violence against women. As part of the World Bank’s qualitative study informing the... -
Women’s Representation and the Use of Reserved Seats in Bougainville
The Autonomous Region of Bougainville introduced the Pacific’s first parliamentary reserved seats for women system in 2004. While the system guarantees a minimum level of... -
‘What Is Mine Is Yours’: Women’s Asset Control and Decision-Making in Fiji and PNG
This short paper draws on narratives from communities who participated in research in Fiji and Papua New Guinea. The findings suggest that strong gender norms may constrain... -
Preventing Violence at Home, Allowing Violence in the Workplace: A Case...
This short paper draws on the views shared by security guards who participated in discussion groups as part of a larger research project that explores how men interpret and... -
Developing Young Women’s Collective Action in Vanuatu
This short paper reflects on the experiences of 38 young, educated women in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. It finds that: Young women in Melanesia are subject to... -
New Draft National Action Plan to Address Sorcery Accusation-Related Violence in PNG
In 2013, widespread publicity given to the deaths of two women accused of witchcraft in Papua New Guinea drew international and national attention to the problem of sorcery and... -
Home-Brewed Alcohol, Gender and Violence in the West Papuan Highlands
The production and consumption of home-brew in the highlands is adding a dangerous ingredient to already volatile ethnic, gendered, and political conditions. While scholars have... -
Witch hunts in Papua New Guinea’s Eastern Highlands Province: A Fieldwork Report
The issue of sorcery and witchcraft-related accusations and violence in Papua New Guinea is receiving increasing attention domestically and internationally. A growing body of... -
Papuan Perspectives on Family Planning, Fertility and Birth Control
Papuan perspectives on family planning have historically emphasised political concerns that reflect the tensions between the Indonesian state and indigenous rights – Papuans... -
Pawa Blong Meri: Women Candidates in the 2015 Bougainville Election
The 2015 Bougainville election saw a record number of women candidates, and a record number of women were elected. While one in three open constituencies had at least one woman... -
Big Men Drink Beer; Drunk Big Men Do Not Hit Women
Numerous studies show obvious links between alcohol abuse and violence in Melanesia. In Papua New Guinea, alcohol is incorporated into sociality involving gift exchange and... -
The 2013 Survey on HIV in Tanah Papua: Gender, Ethnicity and ‘Casual Partners’
This paper reports that in Tanah Papua (the western half of the island of New Guinea, currently comprising the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua), there was an HIV... -
Developing Insecurity: Sorcery, Witchcraft and Melanesian Economic Development
This paper draws explicit links between witchcraft and sorcery practices and beliefs in Melanesia, and poor development outcomes. It notes four distinct categories of impact:... -
Sorcery Cases in Papua New Guinea’s Village Courts: Legal Innovation Part IV
The Sorcery Act criminalised the use of sorcery for ‘evil purposes’. It was repealed in 2013 in the wake of several high profile and gruesome killings related to sorcery... -
Using Mobile Phones to Track Anti-Witchcraft Violence in Papua New Guinea
This short paper details a pilot project using mobile phones to record and report data about accusations of witchcraft at funerals. The pilot is part of a growing body of work... -
Step-by-Step: Climbing the ‘Ladder of Freedom and Power’ in Fiji and PNG
Fiji and PNG were part of the World Bank’s qualitative study informing the World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development, for which local researchers organised...