The Assistant Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection, Sashi Kiran, called attention to the alarming rates of child sexual abuse in Fiji, describing the data as a national shame. During her address in Parliament on Friday, she presented recent statistics from the Fiji Police Force covering reported cases from 2021 to mid-2024.
In 2021, there were 729 reported cases of child sexual abuse, which rose to 1,034 in 2022. However, in 2023, the numbers declined to 844 cases. For the first half of 2024, there have already been 324 reported cases. Kiran noted that rape remains the most commonly reported offense against children in the country.
Breaking down the incidents for this year, among the 324 cases reported, 215 involved children aged 13 to 17 years, 94 were in the 6 to 12-year group, and 15 involved infants aged 0 to 5 years. Among the offenses, there have been 104 instances of rape, 71 cases of indecent assault, and 60 cases of sexual assault, with females making up the vast majority of the victims at 297.
While the overall trend shows a decline in reported cases, Kiran emphasized that the statistics do not fully capture the gravity of the situation and should provoke deep reflection and shame within the nation. She urged all Fijians to confront the issues of child sexual and domestic abuse directly, noting that the data released monthly by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) reveals a continuous failure to protect children.
She highlighted that, over the last six years, the youngest victim of child sexual abuse was just two years old, with the youngest recorded victim being only six months old. According to UNICEF, five out of six children in Fiji experience abuse or neglect from their families, a situation that Kiran insists must be addressed urgently.