Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh obtains grant for 'gendered migration' research
Dr. Jennifer Day from the University of Melbourne, Dr. Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh and Ms. Olivia Johnson have obtained a $30,000 (EUR 26.741) research grant from the National Geographic Society for a two-year interdisciplinary research project on 'Gendered Migration: Women, Evictions, and Power in Port Vila'.
The project seeks to understand the power dynamics around forced evictions in Port Vila, Vanuatu, in the South Pacific. Port Vila is one of the world's fastest-growing cities where escalating land prices pose pressing social challenges. The project documents women's lived experiences of forced displacement, and places these experiences in the broader legal and policy context. Dr. Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh is an Assistant Professor of Public International Law at the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies. Her contribution to the project focuses on the legal dimension of forced evictions and its impact on women, in particular the applicable norms of international human rights law.
The aim of the project is twofold. First, the project seeks to contribute to gender-inclusive and rights-based customary land management in Vanuatu. Second, it will contribute to debates on gender-inclusive and rights-based planning and legal process in the context of the international sustainable development agenda. The project will be guided by a steering committee with representation from communities, government, civil society, international organisations and academia.