Stand Up and Fight: Addressing Discrimination and Inequality in Solomon Islands

This report published by the Equal Rights Trust presents evidence of the extent of discrimination and inequality experienced by groups including: women; persons with disabilities; lesbian, gay and bisexual persons; and persons living with HIV in Solomon Islands. It was prepared in partnership with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) - Solomon Islands Country Office and the SPC Regional Rights Resource Team.

The report highlights widespread discrimination against women which is directly connected to gender stereotypes portraying women as inferior to men. “We found that women are effectively second-class citizens in Solomon Islands; they are invisible in all areas of politics and government and do not participate equally with men in any area of life. Violence against women [gender-based violence (GBV)] is alarmingly widespread and widely accepted by both men and women," according to Executive Director of the Equal Rights Trust, Dr. Dimitrina Petrova.

In addition to discrimination against women and discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, the report finds that: persons with disabilities are perceived as "cursed" and denied equality of participation in education, employment, healthcare, and other services; lesbian, gay and bisexual persons are subject to severe social stigma and are largely invisible in society as a result; and persons living with HIV lack access to services, including health services, as a result of fear fuelled by prejudice and ignorance of the disease.

The absence of an effective legal and policy framework on discrimination coupled with the tendency for people to identify strongly as members of kinship groups or residents of a particular island, rather than as Solomon Islanders, has promoted difference and fostered ethnic tension, resulting in a failure of the state to meet obligations to protect human rights. Recommendations for change are made with the following purposes:

"1. To strengthen the protection from discrimination through improving the legal and policy framework in respect to equality; and

2. To enable Solomon Islands to meet its obligations under international law to respect, protect and fulfil the rights to non-discrimination and equality."

They include the following: implementing recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission; strengthening international commitments related to equality; instituting constitutional and legislative reform including a law protecting rights to equality and non-discrimination; providing enforcement including a focal point within government to coordinate policy and action relating to the right to equality; and focusing on communication by:

• Gathering and disseminate information - including statistics on GBV and hate crimes disaggregated to demonstrate the experiences of disadvantaged groups.
• Creating policies to respect and promote the rights to equality and non-discrimination - by developing guidelines for public bodies and educate public officials on their obligations with respect to the rights to equality and non-discrimination.
• Educating on equality - by "ensure[ing] that all educational establishments, including private, religious and military schools, provide suitable education on equality as a fundamental right."