During the first half of 2024, Fiji recorded 324 cases of child sexual abuse, as reported by Assistant Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection, Sashi Kiran, during a parliamentary session on Friday. This translates to a monthly average of 54 cases, with rape being the most common offense against children.
Kiran expressed her concern over these alarming figures, stating, “Any child that has to go through the trauma of abuse is one too many. These figures should be a source of shame and soul-searching for us as a nation. And most importantly, we must look seriously at what we are doing about it.”
The data presented in Parliament included police reports from the years 2021 to 2024. The statistics show that in 2021, there were 729 cases, which rose to 1,034 in 2022 before decreasing to 844 in 2023. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions indicated that over the past six years, the average age of the youngest victims was two years, with the youngest victim being just six months old. The average age of the youngest accused was 12 years.
Kiran noted that three out of five reported rapes were against children, and there were 23 births per 1,000 females below 18 years of age. In 2024, of the 324 reported child sexual abuse cases, the 13-17 age group had the most incidents, totaling 215, followed by 94 cases in the 6-12 age group and 15 cases in the 0-5 age group.
Rape was identified as the most commonly reported crime with 104 cases, followed by 71 cases of indecent assault and 60 cases of sexual assault. The majority of victims were female, accounting for 297 cases, or 91.7 percent, while males made up 27 cases, or 8.3 percent.