The UN’s sustainable development goal 5 in New Caledonia: gender-based violence in the indigenous Kanak community

Abstract

This dissertation examines the intersecting systems of oppression, embedded in a complex socio-political context still deeply marked by colonial legacies, that disproportionately expose Kanak women to high levels of gender-based violence (GBV). Despite formal political advancements and alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5), particularly with regard to increasing women’s political representation, the prevalence of violence against women highlights the ineffective state and customary mechanisms in addressing the intersecting vulnerabilities faced by Kanak women. The adopted theoretical framework –grounded in decolonial and intersectional feminist theory, and indigenous epistemologies, and informed by legal and sociological analyses– aims to examine how French colonialism contributed to further legitimizing patriarchal structures and normalizing GBV in New Caledonia. The central argument is that GBV in the Kanak community is not an isolated phenomenon but the result of entrenched colonial and patriarchal systems that continue to marginalize indigenous women through both structural inequalities and traditional cultural norms. Through historical analyses, contemporary data and a key informant interview, the dissertation studies the prevalence of GBV within the Kanak community as a critical symptom of ongoing coloniality in the territory. The study, thus, emphasizes the need for an intersectional and situated response that puts Kanak women’s voices at the center, promotes a broad and inclusive understanding of New Caledonia’s values and identity, and embraces decolonial and regional strategies for achieving gender equality in New Caledonia.