Incidents of crimes against women and children saw a significant increase last month, with crimes against women rising by 39 percent and those against children by 9 percent.
Out of the 232 recorded cases of crimes against women, a striking 88 percent were related to assaults, while 12 percent were classified as sexual offences. Additionally, 31 percent of these incidents were domestic-related, involving a spouse or partner.
The primary contributor to the surge in crimes against women was the category of assault causing actual bodily harm, which recorded 181 cases—an increase of 65 cases compared to the same period last year.
In the case of crimes against children, there were 153 recorded incidents, consisting of 96 female victims and 57 male victims. Among these cases, 53 percent were sexual offences, 35 percent were assault-related, and the remaining 12 percent fell under other categories.
The Fiji Police Force noted that the increase in crimes against children was largely attributed to a rise in assault causing actual bodily harm, which escalated from 25 to 45 cases.