1 Jun 2009

Fiji NGO says report shows deterioration of Pacific women's status

7:43 am on 1 June 2009

A women's community organisation based in Fiji says its report on women, peace and human security shows a deterioration in the status of women across the Pacific.

The co-ordinator of Femlink Pacific says it'll present the first quarter report for this year to a meeting of regional women's community media networks today.

The meeting brings together peacewomen from Bougainville, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Fiji.

Sharon Bhagwan Rolls says she hopes the report prompts Pacific countries to improve women's security.

"When we're correlating the human security framework if you look at the issue of personal security of women closely linked to that is the issue of violence to women and the threat to women. So rape is high on the agenda of just some of the very real threats that women are living under. You know in Fiji in January the news was the gang rape of a young girl so those are just some of the issues that are coming through not just from our own own women's media network but being reported through the mainstream media as well"