There was a significant rise in crimes against women and children last month, with reported incidents against women increasing by 39 percent and those against children rising by 9 percent.
Out of the 232 recorded cases of crimes against women, 88 percent were related to assault, while 12 percent were classified as sexual offences. Domestic violence accounted for 31 percent of these incidents, with the perpetrator being a spouse or partner.
The specific offence contributing notably to the increase in crimes against women was assault causing actual bodily harm, which saw a rise of 65 cases from the previous year, totaling 181 incidents.
In terms of crimes against children, there were 153 recorded cases, involving 96 female victims and 57 male victims. Among these cases, 53 percent were sexual offences, 35 percent were related to assaults, and 12 percent were categorized as other offences.
The Fiji Police Force indicated that the surge in cases involving children was primarily due to a significant increase in assault causing actual bodily harm, which rose from 25 to 45 cases.