The Assistant Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection, Sashi Kiran, emphasized that the statistics on child sexual abuse should be a source of national shame for Fiji. She expressed these sentiments during her end-of-week statement in Parliament on Friday.
Ms. Kiran presented recent data from the Fiji Police Force regarding child sexual abuse cases reported from 2021 to 2023, including the first half of 2024. In 2021, there were 729 reported cases, which rose to 1,034 in 2022 before slightly decreasing to 844 cases in 2023. In the first six months of 2024 alone, there have already been 324 reported cases.
She pointed out that rape is the most common offense against children in Fiji. The breakdown of this year’s data reveals that among the 324 cases reported, the largest group of victims were aged 13-17 years, with 215 cases. There were also 94 cases involving children aged 6-12 years and 15 cases concerning infants aged 0-5 years.
Specifically, there were 104 cases of rape, 71 cases of indecent assault, and 60 cases of sexual assault. The data showed that females accounted for the majority of victims, totaling 297.
Despite a declining trend in overall cases, Ms. Kiran noted that the reported statistics do not fully capture the severity of the situation. She urged all Fijians to address the critical issues of child sexual and domestic abuse. Monthly releases of distressing data by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) highlight the ongoing failures to protect children.
Alarmingly, the average age of the youngest victim of child sexual abuse in the last six years has been just two years old, with the youngest recorded victim being only six months old. According to UNICEF, five out of every six children in Fiji experience abuse or neglect from their families. Ms. Kiran called for serious action to tackle these alarming issues.