EJF, Environmental Justice Foundation (2023) Leaving no one behind: A community-based analysis of gender inclusion and economic vulnerability in Liberia’s small-scale fisheries. Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), p. 32.
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The report findings show that mainstreaming of gender issues in the fishery sector is limited, and strategies to advance women's status in SSF are still a key development issue in Liberia. The findings also reveal that marginalised and economically vulnerable groups exist in fishing communities and that marginalised groups (including youths and elderly people) are excluded from decision-making processes relating to fisheries. Women and men have different roles in the fisheries sector. Men are actively engaged in fish harvesting, fishing gear maintenance, canoe construction and repairs, while women are primarily involved in fish processing, trading, financing fishing trips, and tending to domestic household chores. In the communities studied, women were seen as busier than men as they multitask to meet the daily domestic needs of their families (cooking, cleaning and childcare) and run their fish processing and trading activities. Traditional norms and beliefs influence women’s and men’s roles in SSF. These norms position men as “heads” and decision-makers and more fitting to conduct fishing activities at sea. Women are seen as “helpers” and “nurturers” and are more suited for post-harvesting activities and domestic chores. Men have more access to and control over fishing equipment (canoes, nets, outboard engines), while women have access to fish processing equipment (stoves, ovens). Both men and women fund fishing activities, and women mainly acquire money from limited informal micro-credit schemes and supplementary livelihood activities such as selling agricultural produce to support these activities. Women are less involved in decision-making processes than men. This varying level of involvement is partly because of their schedules, traditional beliefs, and limited laws and policies to support women’s active participation in these processes. Men’s needs and interests in SSF are centred around ownership, control over and management of fishing inputs and access to fish landing sites. In contrast, women’s needs and interests relate to access to landed fish to sell, fish processing equipment, and credit and social services such as health and education for their children.
| Item Type: | Documents |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Liberia, Small-scale Fisheries, Livelihoods, Fishing Communities, Fishing Gear, Canoe, Fish Harvesting, Women, Fish Landing Centers |
| Subjects: | Gender in Fisheries and Aquaculture |
| Depositing User: | Kokila ICSF Krish |
| Date Deposited: | 05 Nov 2024 04:47 |
| Last Modified: | 05 Nov 2024 04:47 |
| URI: | http://icsfarchives.net/id/eprint/20939 |
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