In the outer islands, it is well known in the volunteer community that the first “creeper” comes after six months in placement. Creeper’s or creeping does not just happen to volunteers but young local girls as well. It is when young men come to the house and ask you for sexual gratification in some way or another. During my first six months on the Island, on the occasion I would be lying in bed and I would sense somebody else’s presence with maybe a move of the curtain or a shuffle of footsteps outside the bedroom window but I never felt threatened. Later when talking to my neighbour I found out that they were usually young boy’s trying to peek around the curtains to get a better look at your naked white flesh as you lie there succumbed to the desperate heat of the night. There must be such a fascination with knowing if a white body is different from a black man’s body.
I didn’t know if to take the other volunteers comment seriously about the creeping starting after six months, but low and behold after six months the first boy came. Maybe they spend the first six months plucking up the courage, or watching your moves before they are brave enough to come to the door or is it that they have a secret community of creepers awaiting the six month of your stay!
It must have been just after 8pm, I was in the kitchen preparing dinner when he called my name. He must have been about fifteen years old; a tall slim boy with wide eyes bashfully asked me if he could come inside and have sex with me. My goodness the front! I was quite shocked and found it a little difficult to know what to reply to him, especially when replying in Bislama “fasin blong yu I no gud wea I no gud, yu no save mekem olsem” (Your behaviour is not acceptable, you cannot do this) and with a raised voice he

disappeared quickly into the darkness.

Mele Leaf outside my house

Mele Leaf to keep away
intruders... and also me!

Hannington the landlord’s son had the bright idea of placing a Mele leaf to the side of my house to deter intruders from passing. The Mele leaf is an effective custom leaf that once placed it is taboo to pass. This leaf is highly respected and shall never be disobeyed and I had no creepers for a week or so. Unfortunately the chief pointed out that if he places the leaf here, it also means that I cannot enter the property. It was then removed.

It all started to get a bit more serious when another creeper came to my window at 3am, called out my name, I thought I could ignore him then all of a sudden tore my mosquito netting and started to pull out my French style window! “Yu stap mekem wanem!” (what are you doing!) I cried in a sonorous manner. 



Broken mosquito screen
and window...

I rushed outside armed with my camera to try and get a photo or a look at him but it was too late, he was gone. I spoke with the paramount chief and the police, the word spread quickly of the incident caused a furore of concern. The next day the word had spread that I’d had another visitor, young boys were sent to my house in their hoards to come and take a look at the photo of the boy but nobody was going to give him in. It didn’t take me long before I saw him at the post office, how can you hide in such a small community. I surreptitiously asked two different people his name and finally reported him to the police. He was finally cautioned and shamed within the community and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was beaten for his behaviour.



Nine months into my placement, I had been working for two weeks solidly on sexual reproductive health workshops for community groups in Mere Lava and Gaua Island; I was exhausted although very satisfied with the participation of the groups and the feedback from participants and community leaders. The last workshop was for adolescents which was successful with interesting and very heated debates about sexual norms and values. We finished the workshop with an unfortunately lengthy closing ceremony and I managed to escape to my bungalow which was set aside from the main village. I was relieve to have finished and started to pack when I heard someone calling my name. My heart sunk, I just wanted to be alone. I opened the door to find a boy from the workshop, had I forgotten something?, or was I needed back in the village? “Mi save gat sex wetem yu?” (can I have sex with you, the boy asked..) I was furious! What had I been talking about for the last two days! I then gave him another lecture on the door step about ways to approach women and this was certainly not one of them, at least he said he had a condom! It was interesting, he stayed nervously at my door step, eyes darting left to right anxiously looking out for people approaching, but at the same time knew that he could not leave while I was giving him the lecture!



After these episodes it certainly taught me a lot more about how the culture here suppresses people’s sexuality. It appears that it is frowned upon if adolescents of the opposite sex are seen together, even in a platonic relationship. How on earth can young people get to know other young people and to explore their sexuality if they are prohibited in having open relationships? This episode has since been an example in my sexual reproductive health workshops and an excellent discussion point. If we can possibly change the adolescent’s perspective of sexuality and what is acceptable, maybe we can move forward from this hidden world of sexual relationships maybe with the hope to reduce teenage pregnancies and STIs.

NB. (Since the police cautioned the boy at my home there have been no other creeping incidences and VSO have since made the house more secure with mesh wiring to the windows and fencing around the house.)