Isikeli Vulavou and Sulivenusi Waqa(March 2011)

The recording is an interview with Isikeli Vulavou and Sulivenusi Waqa, conducted by Gareth Watkins at the Wellington Town Hall, New Zealand, on March 16, 2011. It captures their discussion on human rights issues, particularly those concerning the LGBT community in Fiji, against the backdrop of a human rights conference they were attending. The interview spans 35 minutes, focusing on actions and developments in the 2010s regarding the decriminalization of homosexuality, the challenges posed by the current political climate, and the forward movement in protecting the rights of sexual minorities in the workplace.

Vulavou and Waqa belong to MEN Fiji, an organization aimed at HIV programming and empowerment for men in Fiji. MEN Fiji was established due to the lack of HIV programming for MSM (men who have sex with men) and is now looking to integrate a human rights perspective into its programming. Funding, however, remains a significant challenge, especially in the context of a military-led government that has rendered the once-functional National Human Rights Institute inactive. Despite this adversity, the military government has unexpectedly taken a progressive step by decriminalizing homosexuality, which they see as encouraging. The interviewees speculate that this was achieved without extensive lobbying and consider it a rare positive outcome from the military rule.

The discussion also covers the paradoxical increase in penalties for sex work despite the legal gains for other aspects of sexual rights. This poses a conflict, especially within the broader context of HIV and AIDS programming. They highlight a bold leap forward with the Employment Promulgation Act, which protects against workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The interviewees emphasize the importance of education and tolerance. They touch upon the need to involve the ministry, schools, churches, and civil society in promoting such values, to ensure a future akin to that of tolerant nations like the Netherlands. The narrative of a violent incident against a member of the LGBT community provides a poignant reminder of the ongoing struggle against discrimination and the need for institutional support mechanisms.

Exploring initiatives like the Fiji Transgender Empowerment Project, the development of behavior change campaigns, and the promotion of sexual health through various means, the speakers bring to light both the infrastructure of support being built and the gaps that remain within the context of their work. They touch upon research initiatives like the implementation of integrated behavioral and biological surveys to inform HIV and AIDS programs in Fiji.

As they look to the future, both interviewees express hope that in 30 years, society will have evolved to integrate diverse communities fully, and issues of sexual identity discrimination will have become a thing of the past.

This summary is created using Generative AI. Although it is based on the recording's transcription, it may contain errors or omissions. Click here to learn more about how this summary was created.

Isikeli Vulavou Sulivenusi Waqa

2010s, asia pacific outgames (2011), fiji, human rights, isikeli vulavou, sulique waqa, sulivenusi waqa

1980s, abuse, access, activities, anger, anti discrimination, arts, asia pacific outgames, australia, bars, board, building, bullying, campaigns, change, church, civil rights, code, collective, coming up, communication, community, conference, council, coup, crime, decriminalisation, design, discrimination, diversity, drag, education, employment, empowerment, events, face, forum, friends, funding, future, gay, government, growing up, hate, hate crime, health, high court, homosexual, hope, human rights commission, identity, integrity, job, knowledge, lesbian, lgbt, listening, lobbying, love, march, marriage, media, methodist, military, ministry of education, minority, msm, netherlands, opportunity, other, pacific, people, polynesia, power, privacy, profile, public health, queer, reading, recognition, representation, research, resistance, running, sad, school, servant, sex, sex work, sexual orientation, sexuality, sodomy, stuff, support, survey, survival, tagged.com, time, tolerance, tough, transgender, understanding, united nations, verbal abuse, volunteer, walking, water, wellington, work