Vanessa Griffen

Vanessa Griffen is a Fijian academic and writer who campaigns against the use and proliferation of nuclear weapons. ^{[1] [2]}

Biography

Griffen was born in Suva, Fiji and attended the University of the South Pacific. She and a group of fellow students and graduates formed a writers' group, University of the South Pacific Arts Group (UNISPAC) to promote creative writing and encourage each other to have their work published. ^[3] Griffen specialises in writing short stories, which she began to publish from 1969. ^[4] These stories make a major contribution to Pacific literature. ^[5]

As a student, Griffen became aware of the environmental and genetic impacts of radioactivity from French nuclear weapons testing in French Polynesia. She joined the anti-nuclear movement ATOM (Against Testing on Mururoa) and helped form the Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific network. ^[1] In 1975 she was part of a group of 5 Fijian women who attended the United Nations' International Year of the Woman conference in Mexico City, including Amelia Rokotuivuna. ^{[6] [7]} She later joined the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and presented a statement at the United Nations negotiations on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. ^[8]

Publications

• Women's role in Fiji (co-writer), South Pacific Social Services Association, 1975
• Women Speak Out! A Report of the Pacific Women's Conference, The Pacific Women's Conference, 1976 ^[9]
• Caring for Ourselves: A Health Handbook for Pacific Women (editor), University of the South Pacific, 1983 ^[10]
• Women, Development and Empowerment: A Pacific Feminist Perspective (editor), Asian and Pacific Development Centre, 1989 ^[11]

References

1. "Vanessa Griffen". www.civicus.org. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
2. "Pacific plays key role in bid to ban nukes". Radio New Zealand. 2017-12-11. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
3. Wisker, Gina (2017). Post-Colonial and African American Women's Writing: A Critical Introduction. Macmillan International Higher Education.
4. Subramani (1992). South Pacific Literature: From Myth to Fabulation. University of the South Pacific.
5. Long, Maebh; Hayward, Matthew (2024). The Rise of Pacific Literature: Decolonization, Radical Campuses and Modernism. Columbia University Press. ISBN   9780231217453.
6. Walker, Anne (2018). A World of Change: My life in the global women’s rights movement. Australian Scholarly Publishing.
7. George, Nicole. "A New Frontierʹ: Pioneering Gender Politics in Fijiʹs Independence Era" (PDF). JSTOR. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
8. "Pacific Islands leading the way | ICAN". www.icanw.org. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
9. "Women Speak Out! A Report of the Pacific Women's Conference. October 27 – November 2 | NZETC". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
10. Science of Pacific Island Peoples: Fauna, flora, food and medicine. University of the South Pacific. 1994.
11. "Women, Development and Empowerment: A Pacific Feminist Perspective | NZETC". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 2018-07-15.