Nearly 100 school students in the Nadi area have been discovered engaging in sex work on the dark web platform Telegram, according to Alice Fong, the Ministry of Education Divisional Counsellor for the West.
Fong made this statement during her address at the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji Women’s Conference held in Lautoka on Saturday. She recounted a visit to a local school in Nadi last month, where she received a report compiled by the Nadi Police Station.
“There is a social media app known as Telegram, which functions as a dark platform where individuals, both girls and boys, post their pictures and videos while offering sexual services and asking if anyone wants to engage in such experiences,” Fong explained.
She highlighted that the students typically request monetary support for items like phone recharge cards and hotel rooms. “The youngest individual I encountered was a primary school student who was offering herself,” she stated.
Fong revealed that the police had identified around 100 active students involved in this activity within the Nadi District. She added that students in other regions of Fiji might also be using this platform.
“It is important not to assume that this issue is limited to Nadi or Lautoka. This is occurring in our communities, and I speak from what I have seen, read, and learned,” she emphasized.
She urged parents and guardians to be vigilant about their children’s online activities and to monitor what they are doing.