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Projects
Exploring the access to, and experiences of people of diverse sexual orientation and/or gender identity engaged in fisheries
People of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression (SOGIE) exist throughout the Pacific and its diasporas, but many face sustained institutional, cultural and social discrimination, as well as cultural, physical and sexual violence.
Critiques of gender sensitive programming in Pacific countries have noted that ‘there is conceptual confusion with ‘gender’ being conflated to “helping women”’, a foundational problem which is not confined to the fisheries industry, nor the Pacific region. We disrupt these assumptions and offer a crucial, foundational understanding of gender categories and roles as products of historical, cultural and social forces. While binary analyses can offer important critiques of the history of gender programming, this project seeks to develop and expand these concepts to include more complex understandings of gender, and the role gendered categories play in cultural, social and working life. We base this understanding on developments in International human rights policy as well as important developments in methodological approaches to studying gender in communities, including utilising Pacific research framework and protocols. This innovative, interdisciplinary methodology also offers strategies which will fill many of the significant gaps in current knowledge of subsistence and coastal fisheries personnel, practices and catch.
Our recommendations highlight the complexity of the issues facing people of diverse SOGIE living in Samoa, and their skills and resilience in the face of pervasive marginalisation. There are so many avenues to explore in supporting these communities, and contributing to the quality of data available on subsistence and small-scale commercial fisheries in Samoa. It is imperative that the contributions of people of diverse SOGIE to village and family life are recognized and supported, in particular their skills and assistance across the fisheries supply chain, not only for the benefit of Samoan society more broadly, but as a foundational act of economic justice.
DOWNLOAD FULL REPORTCritiques of gender sensitive programming in Pacific countries have noted that ‘there is conceptual confusion with ‘gender’ being conflated to “helping women”’, a foundational problem which is not confined to the fisheries industry, nor the Pacific region. We disrupt these assumptions and offer a crucial, foundational understanding of gender categories and roles as products of historical, cultural and social forces. While binary analyses can offer important critiques of the history of gender programming, this project seeks to develop and expand these concepts to include more complex understandings of gender, and the role gendered categories play in cultural, social and working life. We base this understanding on developments in International human rights policy as well as important developments in methodological approaches to studying gender in communities, including utilising Pacific research framework and protocols. This innovative, interdisciplinary methodology also offers strategies which will fill many of the significant gaps in current knowledge of subsistence and coastal fisheries personnel, practices and catch.
Our recommendations highlight the complexity of the issues facing people of diverse SOGIE living in Samoa, and their skills and resilience in the face of pervasive marginalisation. There are so many avenues to explore in supporting these communities, and contributing to the quality of data available on subsistence and small-scale commercial fisheries in Samoa. It is imperative that the contributions of people of diverse SOGIE to village and family life are recognized and supported, in particular their skills and assistance across the fisheries supply chain, not only for the benefit of Samoan society more broadly, but as a foundational act of economic justice.
Dr Christina Kenny
More from Dr Christina Kenny of the University of New England on the background and contributions of the SOGIE Samoa project.
Dr Fetaomi Tapu-Qiliho
More from Dr Dr Fetaomi Tapu-Qiliho on the background and methodologies of the SOGIE Samoa research project.
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