Concerns about child sexual abuse in Fiji have been raised following the disturbing report of 324 cases documented in the first half of 2024. Sashi Kiran, the Assistant Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection, presented these findings during a parliamentary session on Friday.
Kiran revealed that the monthly average of reported child sexual abuse cases stands at 54, with rape identified as the most frequent offense against children in the country. She emphasized that any child suffering from abuse signifies a larger societal failure, calling the statistics both shameful and a prompt for introspection at a national level.
She referenced data from the Fiji Police Force, noting the trends over recent years: 729 cases were reported in 2021, an increase to 1,034 in 2022, followed by a decline to 844 cases in 2023. Moreover, a United Nations expert had recently underscored the necessity of prioritizing children’s rights in the digital realm, citing an alarming rise in online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Kiran further disclosed that the average age of victims over the past six years is just two years old, with the youngest victim being only six months old. Alarmingly, the average age of the youngest offender is merely 12 years. Statistics reveal that three out of every five reported rapes involved children, and 2.3% of births were to females under the age of 18.
The situation calls for urgent national attention and proactive strategies to combat these issues effectively. Kiran urged that mere acknowledgment of the problem is insufficient, and that more comprehensive actions need to be taken to address this critical matter.