The Wire

Now to the recent conflict in the Solomon Islands and a personal perspective on the complex roles women take on during times of war. In their most recent report, Amnesty Intenational found that three-quarters of the women they interviewed had suffered some form of direct personal trauma during the eight year conflict, including rape, domestic violence and intimidation. But violence against women is just one of the major ongoing concerns for women in this male-dominated society, where a “bride price” is still paid to a bride’s parents a practice that many women believes encourages men to treat their wives like property. Ethel Sigimanu, the Permanent Secretary of the Unity, Reconciliation and Peace Ministry in the Solomon Islands told Christine Baker that she that the violence suffered by women in the conflict was a direct result of their vulnerable place in society.

Amnesty International in Asia and the Pacific