MINISTRY OF PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT AND INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING SOLOMON ISLANDS COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE AND GRIEVANCE MANAGEMENT PROJECT Briefing Note 1: Patterns of Dispute and Pathways of Resort in Rural Solomon Islands: Evidence, Implications and Early Results The Community Governance and Grievance Management Project is implemented by the Ministry of Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening, and supported by the Australian Government and the World Bank What is this Briefing Note Series? This series of Briefing Notes is designed to capture and share knowledge and learning that is being generated as part of the Community Governance and Grievance Management Project. The intention is for this knowledge and learning to be set out in a way that can be readily understood, so it becomes available for wider use and discussion. This first Briefing Note provides an introduction to knowledge and learning on patterns of dispute in rural Solomon Islands and the different ways that these disputes are handled, which informed the design of the Community Governance and Grievance Management Project. It also offers early indications of how the Community Officers supported by the project are responding to these disputes and influencing the effectiveness and equity of the ways they are handled. A second Briefing Note will focus specifically on knowledge and learning from the project on gender-based violence and social inclusion. A third Briefing Note will explore the implications of evidence-driven project design and adaptive implementation. Additional Briefing Notes will be prepared to share further knowledge and learning generated as part of the project, as the project progresses. The data drawn on for this Briefing Note series comes from a number of sources, including the baseline survey for the Community Governance and Grievance Management Project. The baseline survey, conducted at the outset of the project, involved a series of quantitative and qualitative modules applied to self-designating household heads, as well as to a male individual, a female individual and an individual of a different generation (elderly or youth) in each household sampled. Where the Briefing Notes refer to ‘people’ or ‘rural Solomon Islanders’ this is because the analysis of survey results indicates no significant differences between the responses of men, women, the elderly and youth (or because these dis-aggregations are not applicable in the context concerned). Where there are significant differences, these are identified. Other sources include the research and consultations carried out in the preparation of Justice Delivered Locally, a mid-term perception survey for the project, Community Officer logbooks, and the findings from regular supervision missions to participating provinces. These consultations, surveys, logbooks and so forth similarly distinguish between men and women and people of different generations. This Briefing Note has been prepared by Doug Porter, Virginia Horscroft, Mike Roscitt and Ali Tuhanuku of the World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed herein are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, its Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The Community Governance and Grievance Management Project is funded by a grant from the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The views expressed in this publication are the authors’ alone and are not necessarily the views of the Australian Government. The Community Governance and Grievance Management Project is implemented by the Solomon Islands Ministry of Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily the views of the Solomon Islands Government. Introduction: What is the project trying to do, provincial and national authorities, including the police. and where did it come from? This involves increasing awareness at the community level about national and provincial government policies, The Community Governance and Grievance Management programs and activities, as well as feeding information project aims to help communities strengthen their internal about community concerns and interests to provincial and governance, and to enhance the effectiveness of linkages national authorities. The particular way in which each CO between communities and government. operates depends on the individual CO, the authority The project was based on analytic work and widespread structures in the villages they work in, and the province public consultations that began in 2009. These concluded they work in. But they all have in common a distinctive that Solomon Islands’ development gains since the end of ‘institutional location’ at the intersection of the state – the earlier period of tension mask significant trends that particularly provincial authorities and the police – and are likely to heighten disputation and local conflict if left different forms of local authority – whether chiefly, unaddressed.1 The immediate contributors to these trends religious, community organisations or other forms of local are Solomon Islands’ weak and geographically uneven authority. economic prospects, extensive poverty, and the This Briefing Note sums up what has been learnt to date geographic challenge of providing public services to such a about patterns of dispute in rural Solomon Islands, how widely scattered population. The more profound these vary by place, and how they are experienced by contributors are two long term trends that have different kinds of people. It then considers the different intensified in recent decades. The first trend, beginning ways that Solomon Islanders handle disputes –referred to long before independence, is the disintegration of as their pathways of resort for disputes. Finally, it records traditional ways of organizing life that has accompanied some early indications of how COs are responding to these the transition from a subsistence-based economy to a disputes and influencing the effectiveness and equity of capitalist economy concentrated on natural resource the pathways of resort.4 extraction. The second trend is the dual process whereby Solomon Islanders perceive that government – meaning the administrative presence and services of line ministries – has withdrawn from rural areas, but at the same time there has been spectacular increase in the flow of public resources into rural areas through constituency development funds under the control of parliamentarians. The same analytic work and public consultations also revealed that rural Solomon Islanders have a clear sense of both the problems they face with local grievances and disputes, and the remedial measures that they feel could help them address these problems. This triggered a commitment by the Solomon Islands Government, through the Ministry of Provincial Government and Figure 1: CO Horizontal and Vertical Linkages Institutional Strengthening, to work together with participating provincial governments and communities on Patterns of Dispute: What types of disputes a project aimed at strengthening community governance are of most concern, and for whom? capabilities and the effectiveness of linkages between communities and government.2 The primary means of While rural Solomon Islands is very diverse, there are doing this is by supporting community selection of common points of experience of disputes among rural ‘Community Officers’ (COs), who serve as part of provincial people and common expectations about how these administrations. disputes could be addressed.5 The first thing to recognize is that in about two thirds of the wards covered by the COs are now working in Makira-Ulawa and Rennell and baseline survey at the start of the project, a large majority Bellona, have just been appointed in Malaita, and will soon of people said relationships in their communities were be appointed in Central Province.3 COs have two main peaceful or somewhat peaceful. The disputes that rural tasks. The first is to work with and enable local authorities Solomon Islanders do highlight as concerns can be – chiefly, religious and other leaders – to improve grouped into three categories: community cohesion and stability. The second is to • Social order disputes – family disputes, domestic promote more effective connections between citizens and violence, and drug and alcohol-fueled 1 Family Conflict 88% Land Ownership 87% Drug & Alcohol Abuse 85% Stealing / Theft of Property 80% Domestic Abuse 78% Youth Issues 76% Physical Fights in Public 61% Political Conflict 61% Damage to Property 57% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% % of Individuals Identifying Occurrence of Problem in Community (Renbel & Makira) Figure 2: Community Prevalence of Most Common Disputes (Renbel & Makira) disagreements between youths and elders, and men the local economy, social structures and gendered power and women are by far the most prevalent disputes. relations. The prevalence of some social order problems For instance, confirming earlier research, in almost all (like those involving substance abuse, family issues and of the wards covered by the baseline survey, rural youth) was similar across communities, but for politics- Solomon Islanders cited drug and alcohol abuse as related disputes the prevalence was far higher in Renbel the most prevalent problem in their communities. than Makira (reported by 83 and 43 percent of people, Large majorities also cited domestic abuse and respectively). This difference in political disputes is not problems relating to youth as being issues in their surprising because at the time the baseline survey was communities. done, the provincial assembly in Renbel was in a turmoil as • Transactions involving land and natural resources – a result of heated disagreements about bauxite mining. these are a significant predictor of the intensity of For most forms of violence (public fights, threats, and community disintegration and disharmony. In murder) the reported prevalence in communities was very communities where leaders – predominantly chiefs similar, but it was somewhat higher in Makira for damage and educated men – are embroiled in disagreements to property and rape.7 Confirming results from elsewhere, about logging and mining rents and royalties, people the reported prevalence of domestic abuse in say that social order problems are harder to deal communities appeared to be unrelated to socio-economic with, indicating a greater intensity of these problems and demographic factors.8 Most forms of disputes and/or the loss of authority of leaders who had involving land and natural resources (including ownership traditionally garnered general respect. and logging) had a similar reported prevalence in the two • Competition for the benefits of public spending – provinces, but disputes relating to gardens/farms were competition for jobs, assets, services and other somewhat higher in Makira and disputes relating to mining benefits arising from donor aid and constituency were markedly higher in Renbel (there being no mining development spending underpin a third major activity in Makira). category of disputes of concern to rural Solomon Within provinces, there are broadly similar patterns of Islanders. For instance, the vast majority of people in dispute across wards and villages, but marked contrasts in the baseline survey regarded the distribution of particular areas – especially as a result of differences in the benefits from Constituency Development Funds local economy. In Renbel for instance, the baseline survey (CDFs) as unfair, and inequities in how the benefits of revealed a large variation across wards in the extent to discretionary funds are distributed are frequently which households earn income from logging and mining cited by Solomon Islanders as being major royalties. As expected, in the wards on Rennell Island contributors to grievance, disputation and where income from logging and mining royalties is more disharmony. More broadly, there is much common, the reported prevalence of logging and mining disaffection about the gap between what the public disputes is very high (over 80 percent, on average). In expects they are entitled to receive as citizens and qualitative interviews, people in these wards were more what they perceive the state actually provides.6 likely to report worries about violence, especially Patterns of dispute in Makira and Renbel are similar, but associated with timber rights hearings and land access there are marked contrasts in some areas depending on agreements. 2 Figure 3: Income from Logging & Mining Royalties Figure 4: Logging & Mining Dispute Prevalence (Renbel, % of Households) (Renbel, by Ward, % of Individuals) The types and intensity of disputes that worry men and captured by men, but the adverse social and women, young people and elders do appear to vary, but environmental impacts (such as on food gardens or water not to the degree anticipated. The baseline survey found courses) more directly experienced by women. In Makira, that perceptions of the prevalence of many social order the women surveyed appeared to consider public fights problems and types of violence did not vary significantly and disputes relating to politics to be more prevalent than by gender. In Renbel, however, the men appeared to the men surveyed. Across generations, in Makira the consider disputes relating to politics, gardens/farms, disputes that youths were more likely to report were damage to property, stealing and land and natural public fights, politics-related disputes, homebrew and resource ownership to be more prevalent than the women threats of violence. But again, the differences between surveyed. The opposite was true for logging and mining- how men and women, and young people and elders related disputes – which is consistent with qualitative perceived the prevalence of different types of disputes in research findings on the gender-differentiated effects of their communities were not very pronounced.9 logging and mining, with the cash benefits most often Box 1: Logging-Related Conflict in Makira Land disputes, social order problems and violence frequently intensify when opportunities arise to exploit natural assets. When logging arrives, old cleavages resurface, and past settlements unravel... Su’uwasi (Ward 4, Makira) has an ongoing land ownership issue with members in its immediate neighbouring community. According to Su’uwasi elders, people from the other tribe who claim ownership are descendants of a man from mainland Makira who moved to the area during colonial days to work for traders and eventually got married and settled there. The land ownership issue first surfaced in the 1970s when elders from Su’uwasi cleared the area in question to establish coconut plantations. The matter was taken to the chiefs and later to the local court and rulings by the chiefs and local court were in favour of the Su’uwasi tribe. Things settled somewhat and people from Su’uwasi and those of the other tribe lived peacefully and helped each other. However, elders of Su’uwasi invited a logging company to the area in 2015 and the land ownership challenge resurfaced. Repeatedly, there appears to be a close nexus between migration/village formation, land ownership disputes, and logging. These connections can underlie many other social order problems. Waita, (Ward 9, Makira) is a coastal community, where all land is owned by one of the tribes. The community was established in the 1950s and, to make up the numbers to gain recognition from the church as a community, the tribal chief of the land-owning tribe invited his relatives from another tribe to settle in the village. Land ownership rights of the leading tribe are not under any challenge from other tribal groups. However, within the land-owning tribe there is an ongoing power struggle between the current tribal chief and his nephew (son of the current chief’s deceased elder brother). The two are locked in a power struggle around a land ownership dispute. Despite this, the current tribal chief and his nephew managed their disagreements and led their community. However, in 2011 the current tribal chief invited a logging company to operate in the area and this led to serious a land ownership challenge by the nephew which was taken to the council of chiefs who ruled that the chief and his nephew have equal rights over tribal land. Another tribal group also put up a land ownership challenge over forests that were to be harvested by the logging company. During the logging operation in 2012-2014 the community members were divided in their support between the tribal chief and his nephew in their struggle for leadership and to be the primary representative of the tribal land owners. One community member described the period as hell for the community. 3 Figure 5: Prevalence of Different Kinds of Authority in Dispute Management (Renbel, household head respondents vs. Makira, individual respondents) Pathways of Resort: How are disputes than chiefs as they attempt to resolve disputes. A striking handled, who by, with what consequences? feature of the survey findings is the extremely limited involvement of any form of state authority other than the Some observers applaud the resilience of local problem- police in any form of dispute. For substance abuse and solving capabilities in Solomon Islands,10 but published domestic abuse, the limited extent of state involvement surveys of people’s attitudes to public authorities – that there is comes from the court system; for logging, it is whether state, chiefly, religious or other – indicate that mainly from the Forestry Department, and to a lesser most people feel these are ‘broken’, perhaps extent the courts. irredeemably.11 There is still much nostalgia about colonial times – when the courts, police and local-level If we focus on the involvement of Police in dealing with administration provided some degree of connection with disputes, we can see both the way their involvement varies the state. The reduced footprint of the state at the local with the type of dispute and the differences between level that resulted from the retreat of the state in the early Makira and Renbel in recourse to the police. The causes of independence and pre-tension periods, is starkly limited recourse to the police are many and varied (for illustrated in contemporary pathways of resort. instance, it is not within police power to resolve land ownership disputes). But one factor that seems to come What kinds of authority (or ‘who’) becomes involved in through is that – aside from the extreme of murder – most attempts to resolve disputes depends on the type of people know that the police are not connected to a dispute. But it also depends on local social structures – as functioning sequence of prosecution and court processes the contrasts between Makira and Renbel illustrate. The leading to enforcement. The resultant reasoning on three charts in Figure 5 provide examples of the kinds of involving the police is often, “Why would I bother?”13 authority involved in attempts to resolve three different types of disputes in Makira and Renbel.12 The different pathways of resort taken for the different types of disputes are shown by the different shapes of the three yellow figures (in the case of Makira) and the three blue figures (for Renbel). For instance, in both provinces the police have a greater role in dealing with substance abuse and logging disputes than with domestic abuse, while the household has a greater role in dealing with domestic abuse. The importance of local social structures in influencing pathways of resort is illustrated by the significant differences between the yellow and blue figures on each chart. In Makira, people overwhelmingly turn to chiefs to resolve disputes relating to logging and substance abuse, and chiefs even have a significant role to play in cases of domestic abuse. In Renbel, the role of chiefly authority is much reduced, with households Figure 6: Resort to Police by Dispute typically more likely to turn to the church, police or elders (Renbel, household head respondents vs. Makira, individual respondents) 4 The prevalence of different authorities that become satisfied or very satisfied with how disputes over involved in attempts to resolve disputes are not substance abuse were handled, the majority were necessarily a good indication of who resolves the dispute. dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with how disputes over The following charts show the different kinds of authority logging were handled. involved in resolving disputes related to domestic abuse Most rural Solomon Islanders believe that the best way and logging in Makira. They depict the authority of first to handle disputes is by restoring the capability and resort, authorities of subsequent resort, and the authority legitimacy of ‘local leaders’.14 But it should not be assumed that actually resolves the dispute. It is evident that people that when they say this they are all referring to the same often turn to multiple forms of authority in their attempt thing, much less to a common ‘local justice system’. Each to resolve a single dispute – this is sometimes referred to village has a familiar but distinctive amalgam of individuals as ‘forum shopping’ (see Figure 7). Depending on the case, and institutions that variously invoke authority derived this may be because some authorities prove unsuccessful from kastom, religion, wealth and/or the state. Sometimes or unsatisfactory, some authorities can only be effective in and in some places these operate separately, but where combination with others, or because different kinds of they work best they are linked and overlapping, so that authority have different roles to play. In logging disputes powerful and/or respected leaders are able to draw upon in Makira, for instance, police are often the authority of a number of different sources of authority to resolve first resort, but never the resolving party. This makes disputes, depending on their nature.15 It also must be sense, because their involvement is typically in response recognized that while people affirm their desire for local to the related violence – and it is not within their authority authorities to be empowered and rejuvenated, they are to resolve the logging dispute itself. For that, chiefly acutely aware that the power they exercise is often deeply authority is often required. For domestic abuse in Makira, compromised and reproduces the interests of age and the pattern of resort is very different. It shows that people patriarchy. What they aspire to is the rejuvenation of will often try to resolve the problem within the family (and forms of local authority that are both capable and legitimate that often the family is the resolving party). When stepping – that is, efficacious and fair. The more compromised or outside the family, people selectively draw on the unreliable local authorities are, the more people will aim mediation qualities and authority of trusted community to avoid them, and try to enroll others, especially members, church leaders and chiefs. It should be authorities they are networked with, through friendship or recognized that the resolution of a dispute does not mean kinship. Solomon Islander’s skills in this process may be the that it is resolved to everyone’s – or even most people’s – backbone of ‘local resilience’ and ability to restore order satisfaction. In Makira, for instance, the baseline survey that outsider observers have admired. found that while the majority of respondents were Figure 7: Forum Shopping in Makira – Logging and Domestic Abuse (individual respondents) 5 Figure 8: Where COs fit, in relation to local authorities and community groups – as understood by COs during training in Renbel The Project: What are the early results, and These results, though encouraging, reveal little about what are their implications? the kinds of conflicts COs engage with, how they work, with what effect, and what explains these outcomes. Data The first batches of COs were appointed in Renbel and from the logbooks of COs in Makira indicates that the Makira during September 2015 and November 2015, types and prevalence of disputes that COs help respectively. Are they perceived to be making a difference communities to address are similar to that reported in the and – if so – in what ways and for whom? At the broadest baseline survey: dominated by alcohol abuse, violence level, a survey conducted in April 2017 confirmed high (domestic violence, common assault and sexual levels of community satisfaction with the selection of COs harassment), damage to property and stealing, and and with the benefits they were providing to communities disputes regarding land and logging. On the different – with 76 percent of respondents in participating approaches and efficacy of different COs, experience to communities reporting direct benefits from the project (80 date shows the need to answer these questions by keeping percent for males, 71 percent for females).16 COs have two things in mind: the quality of the individual; and the relatively quickly embedded their role in dispute specific context in which he or she is working. The quality resolution pathways, whether directly via mediation and character of the CO – in other words, their ‘agency’ – processes or by helping other community leaders resolve has received considerable attention in performance disputes, becoming one of the primary channels reviews of COs, and rightly so. Age, gender, education, community members turn to with disputes. Some 59 experience, community standing and ‘style of operating’ percent of people reported experiencing improved can have a major bearing on outcomes. This has led some accessibility and 77 percent reported experiencing communities to replace their COs, and, as they have improved effectiveness of community grievance gained more experience and confidence, to adjust the management mechanisms. qualities they look for in new candidates for the position. Communities have also sought specific kinds of training for Figure 9: Reported CO Activities in Community Figure 10: Reported Forums of Dispute Resolution 6 their COs. To date, there is evidence of some variation in In Makira, for instance, where the baseline survey had the types of disputes dealt with by male and female COs, shown the prominent role of chiefs in attempting to and the approaches they take to them, but these resolve a range of different types of disputes, COs have differences do not occur consistently.17 Some youths and been working with this grain. The survey conducted in women report being more comfortable working with April 2017 found that nearly 70 percent of respondents in female COs. Some youths remark that female COs are less Makira saw the CO as working with the chief. In both threatening and better listeners, so are better able to calm Makira and Renbel, levels of community satisfaction with youths in a dispute. Some women are not prepared to COs tended to be higher in areas where COs were seen to approach male COs, and if they do, are not ready to discuss be working with chiefs. At the same time, COs are well issues that are personal or may impact on family aware that working with the grain of local authority reputations. At every level, there is no contention that (typically elder, male, chiefly) may not always be for the more women COs would make a positive impact on social common good, and the risk is ever-present both that inclusion. But it is also true that many male COs are people will contrive to compromise COs, and that they will working innovatively with issues of domestic abuse, both themselves act unwisely in relation to chronic and deeply in making themselves approachable by soliciting help from felt grievances. In areas of Renbel where chiefs are absent female assistants and in working with them to address from local areas, COs more typically represent people of situations of domestic abuse. ‘first resort’ in resolving disputes. Also important are the particulars of the village and ward in which COs operate, The early evidence of the ways COs are working also including its social structure, economic base, and basic underlines the need to consider ‘context’ as well as geographic features like the terrain and ease of transport. ‘agency’ when looking at the impact of COs on local In Renbel, the lowest community satisfaction with COs was authorities, dispute management and linkages with recorded in places where conflict around logging and government. It is evident everywhere that the way the mining was already high, and in one stand-out case where chosen CO relates to pre-existing networks of power, the CO actively colluded with, and then defected to the privilege and exclusion – as a result of their particular logger’s employ. This has underscored the importance of connections with chiefly, religious or customary authority active supervision and peer guidance by provincial, police – is important to the access they have to different forms and national authorities. of local authority and the support they gain from them.18 Figure 11: COs anticipating their roles, challenges, and relationship with the Police – during training in Renbel 7 Experience with the project has so far has reconfirmed ministries has “The Village Peace Warden has earlier conclusions from the analytic work and public also been much done awareness in the community consultations, that it is a mistake to assume disputes are appreciated. For about the Family Protection Act ever simply ‘local’. Some disputes do reflect longstanding example, COs and punishments for harming local social cleavages and local causes. However, as is most have been women and children.” Female leader, Makira obvious in the case of conflicts triggered by logging or attributed with mining, ‘local’ disputes are escalated by failures defusing conflict, sometimes violent, around emergency provincially, nationally and abroad to properly regulate humanitarian relief, by depoliticizing the process of corporate conduct. Recognising this, the project design targeting vulnerable/needy people during the 2015/16 El never anticipated that COs would gain much traction in Nino event in Renbel. COs are frequently included in Rural these kinds of dispute. Indeed, the Renbel authorities Development Project committees and the newly-initiated deemed that the risks to COs’ reputations and credibility ward-level Crime Prevention Committees. They have been from engaging with logging and mining disputes were so active in promoting awareness about the Family great that they instructed them to steer clear of the central Protection Act, including its options, entitlements and logging and mining disputes, and to focus instead on the penalties. Police in Makira report that the number of range of social order disputes typically generated by them women reporting gender-based violence at police stations – the results have been promising. is increasing rapidly – although the follow-up and consequences are not yet clear. For similar reasons it was not initially clear whether COs would play a significant role in disputes around aid and Early concerns that parliamentarians and project public spending. The local political economy of aid projects officials would be wary of COs, shun them as competitors, and public spending is in many respects quite similar to or treat and entice them to collude, have not so far proven logging and mining. Each of these have the effect of warranted. On the contrary, more frequent are remarks to pitching local people against each other in competition to the effect that COs have become, as said one respondent control links with external actors (whether they be donors, to the 2017 beneficiary survey, “a significant positive brokers, parliamentarians or companies) in the hope they player amongst local authorities”. Given the nearly can tap into opportunities (discretionary spending, complete absence of provincial authorities from any loyalties and networks, or jobs and livelihoods). At the involvement in disputes and broader regulation of land, same time, the dividends from working with and enabling natural resources or development spending shown in the external players can be highly regarded. Lessons to date baseline survey, it is surprising that COs are perceived to suggest that the COs are making reasonably astute be improving linkages with provincial authorities to at judgements about whether and how to engage with least some extent. The role of COs in further strengthening disputes or issues that are driven by relationships that are linkages between communities and provincial authorities, external to the village or ward. From the outset in 2015, police and national authorities is critical to the capacity of communities and provincial authorities have appreciated communities to effectively manage grievances and instances of COs’ positive impact on disputes that result disputes, as well as the capacity of state institutions to be from the politicization of development spending. That COs responsive to the needs of communities across rural have been active in the roll-out of national policy, Solomon Islands. awareness of rights, and linkages with national line Figure 11: Baseline Dispute Resolution Channels Figure 12: CO Vertical Linkage Results (Perception Survey) (Makira, individuals vs Renbel, household heads) 8 1 1These background activities are summarized in Porter D, D Isser an analysis of focus group discussions on the declining “power” of and P Venning (2015). Toward More Effective and Legitimate churches, see People’s Survey 2010 (ANU Enterprise Canberra, Institutions to Handle Problems of Justice in Solomon Islands, Policy p.146). For an analysis on public opinion on the behavior of “senior Note, Washington DC., The World Bank. people” at the community-level see the People’s Survey for 2007 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/03/24095499/t and 2008 (ANU Enterprise, Canberra). oward-more-effective-legitimate-institutions-handle-problems- 12 Some caution is required with these comparisons between justice-solomon-islands Makira and Renbel, because in Makira the pathways of resort 2The CGGM Project is supported by the World Bank and Australia’s module of the survey was conducted with individuals (a male, a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. female and a person of another generation in each household 3 At time of writing, in Makira there are 27 COs (called ‘Village sampled), whereas in Renbel it was conducted with household Peace Wardens’), covering 3 Wards. In Renbel there are 10 COs, heads. Given that the people self-designating as household heads covering all 10 Wards. In Malaita there are 15 COs (called would typically exhibit some differences in status from non- ‘Community Liaison Officers’), covering 15 Wards. In Central household heads, and that about three-quarters of the household Province, there will soon be 5 COs (to be called ‘Provincial heads were male, the responses on pathways of resort in Renbel Community Officers’), covering all 13 Wards. may not be as representative as those in Makira. That said, the 4 main difference between the two provinces is the significantly The information sources drawn on in this note include higher resort to chiefly authority in Makira, where the responses quantitative and qualitative baseline surveys in Makira and Renbel, came from individual males, females and elderly or youth, a mid-term perception survey in Makira and Renbel, and CO interviewed separately. logbooks and the findings from regular supervision missions to 13It does not appear that lack of trust is the determining factor – Makira and Renbel, the first two of the four participating provinces. Reports on the baseline and mid-term perceptions surveys are though it may contribute in some cases. In the baseline survey, just available at www.worldbank.org/JusticeSI. over half of respondents said they regarded police as trustworthy, 5 and nearly two-thirds said they would be comfortable making a See summary in Porter et al. (2015). formal complaint against the police if officers behaved badly. 6Data and interpretive remarks on public attitudes to local 14 See Allen M. et al. (2013). Loc. Cit. authorities (e.g., religious and chiefly authority, ‘senior people’), 15This process is sometimes referred to as ‘stacking’ authority. the police and public administration at large, as well as the mismatch between public expectations regarding their How this works elsewhere in Melanesia is explained in Craig, D., D. entitlements as citizens and their lived experiences is provided in Porter and F. Hukula (2016). Come and See the System in Place. the RAMSI-Solomon Islands Government People’s Surveys for the Mediation Capabilities in PNG’s Urban Settlements. The World years 2007, 2008, and 2010 to 2013 (published by Australian Bank: Port Moresby; and Craig, D. and D. Porter (2018). ‘Safety and National University Enterprise, Canberra). Security in Papua New Guinea’s Urban Settlements: capable 7 institutions and local regulation beyond the state? Research With respect to rape, it is likely that the difference resulted from Report, The World Bank: Port Moresby. the occurrence of recent cases in Makira that multiple individuals 16The beneficiary survey was conducted with a gender-balanced in communities referred to. 8 sample of individuals. Secretariat of the Pacific Community (2009). Solomon Islands 17 See Dinnen, S. and N. Haley (2012). Evaluation of the Community Family Health and Safety Survey: a study on violence against women and children, Noumea, SPC. Officer Project in Solomon Islands, Research Report, Justice for the 9 Poor, Washington DC., The World Bank. The evaluation of the CO Even the limited number of differences reported here should be Pilot project (that ran from 2009 prior to the CGGM Project) found treated with caution, because gender or age was not the single ‘no significant or consistent differences between the kinds of differentiating factor among respondents (for instance, their dispute dealt with by male and female COs, nor in the manner in standing in their respective households may have varied), and the which they responded to cases’. CGGM experience has also been sample sizes were not always large enough to draw firm that there are no consistent gender differences. Rather, differences conclusions. reflect a combination of the nature of the dispute, the qualities and 10E.g., Brown, A. (2007) (ed.) Security and Development in the characteristic of the CO, and the ‘context’, that is, the patterns of Pacific Islands – Social Resilience in Emerging States, Boulder, USA, power and authority, economic activity and geography that are Lynne Rienner Publishers. unique to the locality. 11See Allen m. et al. (2013). Justice Delivered Locally: Systems, 18See similar observations in Chadwick, W, & A Tuhanuku, Women Challenges, and Innovations in Solomon Islands, Washington DC, at the Interface of Local and State Justice systems: a case study of The World Bank. For a discussion of public attitudes towards the Community Officers in Solomon Islands, unpublished paper; and police, see the RAMSI-Solomon Islands Government People’s Dinnen, S, and N Haley (2012). Evaluation of the Community Officer Surveys for the years 2010 to 2013 (ANU Enterprise, Canberra). For Project in Solomon Islands, The World Bank, Washington DC. 9