Announcing the Launch of the Pacific Feminist Fund
Artwork by: Shar Tuiasoa
Women and non-binary human rights defenders and activists in the Pacific face insurmountable and intersecting challenges. While financial aid for gender equality is on the rise globally, funding for women’s rights organisations is not. Of this, less than 1% of the direct grant funding goes to women’s organisations in the Pacific. The Pacific region’s demands and challenges are as unique and expansive as the oceanscape and funding is needed by a variety of groups across the islands. In 2019, Urgent Action Fund - Asia & Pacific and Fiji Women’s Fund commissioned a scoping study to map the gaps, opportunities and trends of the funding landscape in the Pacific. The key recommendation of the study was to set up an independent Pacific Feminist Fund.
Urgent Action Fund - Asia & Pacific along with Women’s Fund Fiji, Women’s Fund Asia that are part of the Amplify-Invest-Reach (AIR) partnership with Australia’s Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) are incubating the setting up of this new fund: the Pacific Feminist Fund. It aims to de-risk donations from diverse sources and deliver funds to Pacific women’s and gender non-conforming organisations and groups safely and quickly. The Fund hopes to draw international and regional attention to the needs and priorities of women, girls, and transgender persons in the Pacific, and is modelled on the values and lessons learnt from established global women’s and feminist funds.
It is a Fund that seeks to be built from the ground up. Here’s a report containing the initial findings and recommendations from Pacific feminists, women’s rights organizations and LGBTIQ+ and persons with disability advocates, to explore the design of a Pacific Feminist Fund led by feminists in the region. The report covers recommendations on the Mandate, Structure, Management and Governance of the Pacific Feminist Fund; Sources of Funding; Financial Requirements; and Risk Analysis.
Download and read the full report here.
Follow the newly set up Pacific Feminist Fund here: