Vanessa Griffen Explained

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]

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. 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.^{[5] [6]} 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.^[7]

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^[8]
• Caring for Ourselves: A Health Handbook for Pacific Women (editor), University of the South Pacific, 1983^[9]
• Women, Development and Empowerment: A Pacific Feminist Perspective (editor), Asian and Pacific Development Centre, 1989^[10]

Notes and References

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