(Picture caption: Pacific women’s voices are being elevated in the Wellbeing Report – Voices from Pacific Women and Girls in Aotearoa, New Zealand, recently launched in Wellington.)
A new report elevates the voices of Pacific women in Aotearoa New Zealand – as they share their experiences, both good and bad, and aspirations for the future.
The Wellbeing Report – Voices from Pacific Women and Girls in Aotearoa, New Zealand, launched recently in Wellington, speaks to the resilience of Pacific women and how far they have come - celebrating progress, reflecting on the past, and acknowledging the path ahead.
Mahi undertaken by PACIFICA (Pacific Allied Council Inspires Faith Ideals Concerning All) Inc. culminating in this report aids in the delivery of initiatives involving talanoa with Pacific women and girls around how they keep themselves safe, strong, prosperous, and resilient.
An online survey put together by PACIFICA gathered the thoughts, experiences, and hopes of Pacific women, aged from 13 to 78 years, with aims to understand challenges faced by Pacific women and to document how they, despite statistics to the contrary, show resilience, strength, and mana.
The catalyst for this was PACIFICA’s goal to present a record of Pacific women and girls’ voices in 2023, understanding the challenges faced and how best to support them.
Two talanoa sessions were held in Auckland and Wellington, and data from these discussions was analysed and compiled into the compelling Wellbeing Report, highlighting some interesting findings.
For example, areas the women found challenging were broken down into three sections – navigating between the Western environment they lived in and their cultural values and obligations, the biases they faced being Pacific and female, and the socioeconomic hardship that followed.
Respondents pointed out the difficulty of walking the middle ground between Pacific and Pakeha/Palagi and a sense of disconnect and feeling of not belonging in either.
Being torn between the two different worlds left some women with an identity struggle, and an acceptance of many barriers facing them.
Many believed the situation was getting harder and more challenging as Pacific women struggled to make advances and gains towards prosperity.
There was hope, however, and seeing other Pacific women succeed in many areas acted as motivation.
They said this helped build resilience and increased belief, they too, could succeed.
In October 2021, PACIFICA was granted special consultative status by the UN ECOSOC - the highest status granted by the United Nations to non-governmental organisations.
The accreditation enables PACIFICA to participate fully in the UN system.
This report is the beginning of a series of projects that PACIFICA is keen to look into as part of their ECOSOC status and to provide opportunities for Pacific women to contribute effectively to the cultural, social, economic, and political development of Aotearoa New Zealand and its people.
Visit HERE to read the Wellbeing Report, published in November 2023 by PACIFICA Inc. and supported by Pasefika Proud.