Sistas, Let's Talk Radio Australia

Child protection workers in the Pacific are seeing increased reports of child abuse including sexual abuse.

According to a recent study by Save the Children, more than, 80% of the child protection workers who were surveyed in Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Fiji said emotional, physical and sexual violence had increased or significantly increased in their country.

When it comes to sexual violence in the Pacific, the majority of reported victims under 16 are girls, and the perpetrator is someone they know.

When atrocities happen too often in a community, people don't feel that they have the power to stop them.

Sistas Let's Talk examines what it will take for communities to work together to bring an end to child abuse?

The Pacific corporate world still has a long way to go when it comes to being inclusive and supportive of both neurodivergence and mental health.

It's an issue Samoan sisters Olisana Mariner-Hughes and Okalani-Mariner are addressing through their business Onelook Studio: a social enterprise helping companies with their digital transformation.

But they're also addressing inclusion on a more personal level. They're sharing their own lived experiences with a touch of island humour on Instagram and TikTok, to connect with the neurodiverse community and raise awareness.

So many women in the Pacifc put up with persistent pain. It might be because they can't access the care they need. Or they can't afford to take time off work. Or it could be that women are conditioned to be stoic and put other people's needs before their own.

So how do they get up every day and endure such pain? And more importantly, what needs to change so that they can actually stop and get the rest and the treatment that they need?

When Maakarita Paku was growing her family in the 1990s, it was a time of renaissance for Aotearoa's Maori people.

People like her were looking to their mothers and grandmothers to learn about the rituals that enabled women to endure the pain and risk of bringing new life into the world.

And she was one of many women who wanted to bring their children into a family that practiced those rituals.

Now, as more and more midwives are being trained to incorporate culture into safe birthing practices, Maakarita works as a Consumer Reviewer for the New Zealand College of Midwives – in other words, a traditional Maori Birth advocate.

Bringing a baby into the world is one of the most important things a woman can do, and for millennia this experience has been shrouded in rituals designed to keep both the mother and baby safe.

But in the 21st century, ancient birthing traditions have given way to lifesaving medical support.

This week, Sistas Let's Talk examines the contrasting experiences of Pacific women in developing counties and colonised countries.

In one place there are women who feel so disconnected from their culture that they seek out a traditional birthing experience, and in the other, the fight is to access modern medicine.

Life is easier for everyone when the household chores are done, but in most cases only half of the population is actually doing them.

Women do 80 per cent of the unpaid labour in the Pacific. Work like childcare, domestic duties and caring for neighbours. And it's impacting their ability to make a paid living.

 It's been this way for decades so when and how is it going to change?