In the first half of 2024, a troubling total of 324 cases of child sexual abuse have been reported in Fiji. Assistant Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection, Sashi Kiran, brought attention to these figures during a parliamentary session on Friday, noting a monthly average of 54 cases. Rape has been identified as the most common offense affecting children in the country.
“Every child who endures the trauma of abuse is one too many,” Ms. Kiran emphasized. She expressed that these statistics should invoke feelings of shame and introspection within the nation, stressing the urgent need for action.
The Assistant Minister cited data sourced from Fiji Police Force reports spanning from 2021 to June 2024. In 2021, there were 729 cases, which rose to 1,034 in 2022, before dropping to 844 in 2023. According to reports from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the average age of the youngest victims over the past six years is two years, with one victim as young as six months old. The average age of the youngest accused is 12 years.
Ms. Kiran noted that three out of every five reported rapes involved children, and highlighted that 23 births per 1,000 females were to those under 18 years of age.
Breaking down the reported cases from January to June 2024, the 13-17 age group accounted for the majority, with 215 cases reported. This was followed by 94 cases in the 6-12 age group and 15 cases involving infants aged 0-5 years. Rape was the leading offense, with 104 cases, followed closely by indecent assault with 71 cases, and sexual assault with 60 cases.
The data revealed that females were the predominant victims, representing 297 of the reported cases (or 91.7%), while males accounted for 27 cases (8.3%).