Working for the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs of the Solomon Islands, Dr Anouk Ride collaborated with local researchers on the first social marketing research about attitudes to violence against women and girls to be conducted in the Pacific Islands region. The pilot study details the most appropriate messages to stop violence against women and girls and how is best to deliver anti-violence messages. The research was conducted with women who have experienced violence, men who have perpetrated violence and are in prison, and male, female and youth representatives from different communities (in Guadalcanal, Malaita and Temotu provinces).

The research is intended to have a practical use – to increase the effectiveness of messages and communications materials, activities and events that the various government, church, women’s organisations, INGOs and refuge services conduct and/or to stimulate new actions that can lead to social change. A review of the previous violence against women policy (2010-2015) found that “greater coordination is required for key messaging” particularly for awareness raising about violence and the Family Protection Act and this research is intended to inform such joint efforts[i].

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REPORT

The report was commissioned by the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs (MWYCFA) with funding support by Oxfam Australia as part of the Safe Families Fund, an initiative funded by the Australian Aid Program aimed at eliminating violence against women in the Solomon Islands.

Dr Anouk Ride and Professor Diane Bretherton presented to the Peace Psychology Conference at University of Notre Dame, Indiana, on “Peace Research by Peaceful Means’, each putting forward principles, approaches and examples of doing research in a peaceful way that advances peace in various different contexts. The session drew on chapters from the book “Methodologies in Peace Psychology: Peace Research by Peaceful Means” released in the Springer Peace Psychology series edited by Daniel J. Christie.

“Herstory: Women working in corrections” book  tells the stories of pioneering women working in prisons in Solomon Islands and how collectively they fought for women to be considered equal to men in the male-dominated security sector. Sukwadi Media worked with the CSSI Women’s Network over nine months on this participatory research and media project to bring the book and a film to fruition, with funding support from Australian Government.

The book HerStoryis the collective story of 24 women who worked in prisons and correctional services from 1986 to the present day. These women have a combined total of 377 years of service to CSSI. It is the first time Pacific correctional officers have published their own history of service.

Free download e-version is available: http://d1009381.my.ozhosting.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Herstory-Booklet-FINAL_BLEED2.pdf

Riots broke out in Solomon Islands on 24 April following the parliament’s controversial election of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. Despite the country peacefully holding its first elections since the end of the regional assistance mission earlier this month, frustration with the political system has been fomenting for some time and the riots were targeted with political meaning, as argued in a submission for the Australian Institute of International Affairs “Australian Outlook”: https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/riots-solomon-islands-day-after/

In a recent article for the Australian Institute of International Affairs, Dr Anouk Ride argues that donors need to be more cognizant of, and responsive to, local conflict risks in where and how infrastructure is delivered. Using the example of Solomon Islands, she tracks the impacts of previous infrastructure decisions on conflict and gender equality in the local context. Read more: http://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/infrastructure-conflict-and-the-pacific-risks-and-realities/

An analysis of the impact of the switch in bilateral relations from Taiwan to China is provided today in a new article by Dr Anouk Ride published in Australian Outlook, the online publication of the Australian Institute of International Affairs. An outline is given of implications of the switch for conflict, with some guidance about how donors can respond and encourage early intervention in conflicts which could arise in Solomon Islands in the next few years. Read the article online: http://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/after-the-switch-the-new-china-solomon-ties-conflict-and-international-aid/

At the inaugural Native Lens Film Festival in Honiara, a team of local    and international judges awarded the film “Herstory: Women working in corrections” coproduced by the Correctional Services  Solomon Islands (CSSI) Women’s Network and Sukwadi Media the  award for Best Feature Film 2019. Herstory is a participatory  documentary film that tells the stories of pioneering women who were  the first to work in prisons in Solomon Islands. These women tell their  personal stories of achievement and how they collectively fought for  women’s rights in a once male-dominated workplace.

Dr Anouk Ride, co-producer initially accepted the award on behalf of the film-making team then, at a ceremony yesterday, this award was formerly handed over by co-producer Wendy Gebe to the CSSI Commissioner.

A new report “Women’s Experiences of Family Violence Services in Solomon Islands”  was launched today in Honiara as part of the celebrations for the 16 Days of Activism  Against Gender Based Violence. The Solomon Islands Government has taken a number  of measures including the gazetting of the Family Protection Act 2014 (FPA) in April  2016. Three years later, this research discovers women’s sense of safety and satisfaction  with family violence services including courts, counselling and refuges, health services  and the most often used service: police. The findings are based on qualitative analysis  of approximately 10% of all service users: a total of 126 interviews with service users  across five provinces, plus 24 interviews with service provider staff. The findings  triangulate violence survivors’ perspectives on service provision, situational factors and  personal agency in order to provide recommendations for the future of the FPA system.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REPORT ONLINE

Women still lack adequate influence in setting security agendas, yet there is evidence that significant gains can occur when a more gender-sensitive and inclusive approach is taken, Anouk Ride and Meg Keen write in this analysis on Policy Forum: https://www.policyforum.net/too-few-boots-on-the-ground/

In a recent article in Policy Forum, Dr Anouk Ride and Gina Kekea outline how the State of Emergency in Solomon Islands is creating problems of governance and trust of civil society in the ability of government to uphold their citizen’s interests. The article also points to critical reviews of use of emergency powers by other Solomon academics and institutions. Read more here: https://www.policyforum.net/together-or-apart-against-covid-19-the-solomon-islands-state-of-emergency/

Although as of June 1, 2020, Solomon Islands had no coronavirus cases, there was a national economic recession plus restrictions on people’s movement, gatherings, education and business activities. For rural areas, two of the biggest changes have been increased circulation of people—those who moved out of Honiara and back to the provinces—and reduced cash flow. A new report by WorldFish Solomon Islands details what this means for fish, local fisheries mangement and food security across a sample of rural communities in the country. Read the report here: https://www.worldfishcenter.org/content/changes-and-adaptations-village-food-systems-solomon-islands-rapid-appraisal-during-early and a summary of findings on Devpolicy https://devpolicy.org/coastal-fisheries-in-a-pandemic-solomon-island-and-vanuatu-experiences-20200729/

Authored by local researchers in five countries and edited by Prof. Diane Bretherton and Dr Anouk Ride, “Community resilience in Natural Disasters” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011) is gaining renewed interest in times of COVID19 where communities are dealing with an unprecedented health crisis and differential access of support from government and international actors. The book details how aid and government interventions can help or hurt local community resilience in disasters (including chapters and cases from Kenya, Indonesia, Pakistan, Solomon Islands ,Myanmar, Mexico and Australia) and is currently available directly from the publisher https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9780230114289 and from major retailers including Target USA https://www.target.com/p/community-resilience-in-natural-disasters-by-anouk-ride-diane-bretherton-hardcover/-/A-80966315

Hero-ine, a short action film, questions who are the heroes around us in cases of family violence? The Solomon-made production by Sukwadi Media was launched as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence with local family violence service Family Support Centre on November 30. It has since become one of the most-watched Solomon films of 2019 and been screened at the Native Lens Film Festival, along with other Pacific films produced under the film4gender project of the Pacific Community Filmmaking Consortium. Watch the film here: Hero-ine_Short Action Film – YouTube

Dr Anouk Ride was invited to be part of a special edition of Development Bulletin on security with an article “Solomon Islands Long Summer of Discontent: Security Challenges” available online today: https://lnkd.in/gu2-en4 The edition is produced by the Development Studies Network in close collaboration with, and support from, the Australia Pacific Security College, ANU. Thirty respected Pacific Island and international academics, development and security professionals provide a wide-ranging exploration of the unique and urgent security needs of Pacific Island nations in the special edition, which is open access and available to all to read.

An opinion on the benefits of focusing on what women and girls do, rather than how they look, using social media sites: http://www.anoukride.com/2018/10/22/why-linkedin-is-better-for-girls-and-women-than-facebook/