Fiji has reiterated its commitment to tackling technology-facilitated gender-based violence during a high-level discussion held alongside the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women on 10 March 2026. Speaking in a session titled “Beyond the Screen: Addressing Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence”, Acting Permanent Secretary for Women Selina Kuruleca framed the debate as one of both opportunity and risk for women and girls in Fiji.
Kuruleca acknowledged the important role digital technology has played in empowering women across the country, noting that online platforms have expanded access to education, enabled women to run small businesses, and opened avenues for leadership and participation in decision-making. She highlighted the particular benefits for rural women, who have used social media and online marketplaces to amplify their voices and sell products beyond local communities, broadening income and civic engagement opportunities.
At the same time, Kuruleca warned of a marked rise in technology-enabled harms. She raised specific concerns about online harassment, cyber stalking, impersonation and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, saying these behaviours undermine safety, mental health, reputation and livelihoods. “For many young women and girls, the digital space can quickly become a place of fear instead of opportunity,” she said, urging renewed focus on prevention and response measures.
Fiji’s remarks underscored existing legal and institutional frameworks while calling for further action. Kuruleca pointed to the Online Safety Act 2018, which established the Online Safety Commission Fiji to provide a complaints mechanism for victims of harmful online communication and to work with digital platforms to remove abusive content. She also noted that the Cybercrime Act 2021 criminalises offences including cyber stalking, unauthorised access and the sharing of intimate images without consent. Despite these measures, she said laws and policies must keep pace with rapidly evolving technologies and tactics used to perpetrate abuse.
The acting permanent secretary stressed that stronger partnerships will be essential to any effective response. Kuruleca urged collaboration between government agencies, digital platforms, civil society and survivors themselves, saying that when women and girls withdraw from online spaces because of fear, the result is a weakened democracy, diminished economic opportunities and the silencing of critical voices. She emphasised centring survivors in reform efforts and investing in institutional capacity and digital literacy as complementary lines of action.
Fiji used its platform at the Commission on the Status of Women to reaffirm commitments to strengthen laws, build institutional capacity, promote digital literacy and place survivors at the centre of reform efforts to address technology-facilitated gender-based violence. The government’s statements at CSW70 represent the latest development in its ongoing effort to balance the promise of digital inclusion with the urgent need to protect women from online harms.
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