Gender and LGBTQI+ Policy and Programming in Vanuatu: Opportunities, challenges, capacity, and tools for change

Overview

In 2016 the government of Vanuatu introduced a National Gender Equality Policy. A second phase of the policy will be implemented in 2020–2024. Insights from key informants working on gender in Vanuatu reveal that there have been some positive developments in the first policy phase. A number of challenges remain, however, including limited capacity in a number of key institutions, and resistance to progress caused by prevailing conservative and patriarchal values and beliefs in Vanuatu. In the absence of other legal instruments for LGBTQI+/SOGI equality, perspectives vary on whether this aspect of gender equality should be included in the revised policy.