Confronting Militarization: Intersections of Gender(ed) Violence, Militarization and Resistance in the Pacific.

This paper looks at the intersection of militarization, gender(ed) violence and resistance in the gendered and militarized spaces in the Pacific Islands region. It explores how current cultural governance which emphasizes 'gender' (in this case generally meaning women) both creates spaces for resistance to violence and re-creates the militarized culture of violence in the region. In addressing these questions, the paper first looks at the concepts of cultural governance, militarism/militarization and gender(ed) violence in the context of the Pacific Islands region. It then introduces three brief case studies to offer diverse illustrations of how these concepts intersect. The first illustration offers an overview of the regional framework for addressing women's issues and gender(ed) violence, including the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, suggesting that cultural governance interferes with gender mainstreaming and other initiatives for women. The second will look at the Bougainville Crisis, a ten-year armed conflict between the Bougainville Revolutionary Army and the Papua New Guinea Defence Forces and Resistance Forces on Bougainville Island. Here the discussion focuses on women, particularly the roles they played in peace making. While this conflict occurred before the adoption of Resolution 1325, it is typical of the kind of conflict which that resolution hopes to address. The third case looks at a problem beyond the realm of Resolution 1325 - the situation of the removal of US troops to Guam from US bases on Okinawa. It shows how opposition to gender(ed) military violence by US soldiers in Okinawa led to solidarity between women in Okinawa and indigenous Chamorus in Guam. The paper concludes with the recognition that gender(ed) violence is both pervasive and elusive; its existence is acknowledged in some forms and spaces, but not in others. In order for resistance to be transformational and to eliminate gender(ed) violence, it must overcome cultural governance and address the intricate web of violence created by not only by militarism and militarization, but also by many efforts for de-militarization and peace. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]