National Gender Equality Policy 2015-2019.

The Vanuatu Gender Equality Policy 2015-2019 is a national policy with a multi-sectoral approach. Its mission is to promote equal rights, opportunities and responsibilities among men and women and to eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls. The purpose of the policy is to provide a strategic national framework for enhancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in Vanuatu as well as a coordinated structure to enhance the effectiveness, the efficiency and the impact of the various efforts and activities undertaken by all actors and stakeholders.
The policy identifies several enabling factors or preconditions for facilitating the realization of the four strategic areas of the policy. These factors have emerged from the synthesis of the 13 critical factors outlined in the previous National Plan of Action for Women 2007-2011. Dedicated budgets and resources will be committed towards the following enabling factors: education, health, environment, and information access, societal institutions, and recognition of human rights.
Key strategies envisioned to address the strategic Area 1 "Reducing Domestic and Gender Based Violence" include prevention of GBV through public awareness and advocacy, actively engaging men and boys to end violence against women and girls, and strengthening and improving protective, social and support services including protection of Women, Children and person with Disabilities in times of emergencies. Strategies for Strategic Area 2 "Enhancing Women’s Economic Empowerment" involve Ensuring equal employment opportunities for men and women, improving productivity, skills and income for women including young women and women with Disabilities, engaged in informal and traditional economy, and support for women in business in both rural and urban areas.
Key strategies for Strategic Area 3 "Promoting Women’s Leadership and Equal Political Participation" include raising community awareness, acceptance and support for women’s leadership and participation in decision making, encouraging political parties to increase membership and participation of women, amending relevant legislation to ensure women’s political representation at the municipal, provincial and national levels, increasing the number of women in executive positions within public and private sectors including leadership role within churches and community base institutions, and promote women’s representation on national task forces and working committees.
Key strategies for Strategic Area 4 "Building a Foundation for Gender Mainstreaming" include the enhancement of the financial, technical and staffing capacity of Department of Women’s Affair (DWA), Ministry of Justice and Community Services, National Human Right Committee and DESSPAC to fulfil its coordination and advisory function for the implementation of this policy, and advancing gender equality outcomes within Priorities and Actions Agenda including in the national budget and across all government sectors, as well as initiating research on relevant issues related to women’s issues and gender equality.
The National Gender Equality Policy is supported by a separate monitoring and evaluation plan to track the progress of the implementation process and to identify areas where further efforts and resourcing are required. DWA will be primarily responsible for monitoring the policy through the review of its annual work plans and its internal monitoring processes. DWA will also be responsible for receiving and advising on progress reports from Provincial Governments on their progress in implementing the provincial gender equality plans. A Policy Committee will be established to provide independent oversight and tracking of the policy progress. The Committee will be responsible for holding the Government to account in addressing the strategic areas of the policy and will provide guidance and recommendations on strengthening policy coordination and implementation efforts.