Gender baseline research for Vanuatu

The purpose of this research is to gain a greater sense of the gender work in Vanuatu, from the overall national initiatives to individual country project teams’ level. This learning inquiry will enable Oxfam to establish a baseline of what is currently in progress and where there may be gaps in programming and implementation around gender work at a national level.

This research seeks to fill a gap by developing a gender analysis at the country level using the work that came after the Gender National Equality Policy (2016) as a starting point. It will provide Oxfam with a baseline, which will contribute to shape gender programming in Vanuatu going forward. It will also make visible gaps in practice and showcase the results of the work done by Oxfam in Vanuatu (OiV) using the Socio-Economic Empowerment Design (SEED) tool. The research aims to provide key recommendations to the Government of Vanuatu on how to strengthen the implementation of gender policies especially within the context of high-risk communities to natural hazards.

Research objectives

• Review and identify through a desk review of available documents and tools, the current state of gender-integrated areas of the program, and the strengths, challenges and possible gaps in Vanuatu, using the Gender National Equality Policy (2016) as a starting point;
• Gather insight on experience and application of gender through a course of key interviews with Oxfam staff and partners in Vanuatu;
• Through a gender and power analysis, produce a map of key stakeholders, actors and actions around gender-inclusive preparedness work and women’s leadership and our footprint at national level;
• Using experiences from 3 villages where SEED had been implemented, identify recommendations/best practices on how to strengthen the program design and the policy leverage of this work.

Research questions

These research questions are propositional and may be adjusted as the scope of the work is finalized jointly with the researcher(s):

1. Current state of gender justice: What is the current state of work on gender justice in Vanuatu? What role have Oxfam and our partners played, including through the SEED program, in promoting gender justice, women’s empowerment, and leadership?
2. Value of gender-just programming: How does gender-inclusive programming, including the SEED program, affect attitudes and social change at the household and community level?
3. Beyond the binary: Based on the analysis of gender work conducted to date in Vanuatu, what is the best approach to making visible the role men and boys play in gender justice work in Vanuatu? How do we integrate and showcase the experiences of LGBTQI+ people?
4. Creating links and relationships: Based on the analysis above, how can the DRR work being done in APLIFT reflect positive gender practices from Vanuatu?