In my two homes, Australia and the Solomon Islands, gender-based violence is an issue that has risen on the political and media agenda recently. However, the issue is framed differently in each context, with troubling consequences.
In Australia, there is understanding among policy makers and the general community that violence can happen to women from all walks of life and the problem is often framed in terms of individual characteristics and behaviours of perpetrators β such as poor mental health, drug and alcohol abuse, and generational patterns of abuse. In Solomon Islands for many years there were only local, church-run refuge services and pastoral counselling regarding gender-based violence. However, in the past decade international agencies have increased funding to address reported high rates of gender-based violence, particularly after the civil conflict from to Initiatives include a new Eliminating Violence Against Women policy by the Ministry of Women, Youth and Family Affairs, Safenet a referral network for people affected by violence , a new Family Protection Act with greater penalties and reporting requirements, and a DFAT-funded program called Safe Families that includes community and provincial funding for violence prevention though at this stage only in two provinces, and services are still only available in Honiara.
The two are often linked β i. The only major research report available on gender-based violence is the Solomon Islands Family Health and Safety Survey [pdf], prepared by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community in This survey debunks certain myths β namely that violence against women by their partners is a product of low development levels on the national scale or education on the individual level.
It finds instead that intimate partner violence is largely unrelated to most socioeconomic and demographic indicators, such as the age, education, employment, income and marital status of women. The report turns to cycles of violence such as perpetrator and survivor seeing or being subject to violence as a child as a contributing factor.
Men who are violent to others are more likely to be violent towards their wives, as are those who saw women and children being hit or were hit themselves when they were growing up. Cultural change can legitimise violence as traditional gender norms shift. Nonetheless, this new interpretation of what bride price means is used to legitimise violence against women.
