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Writer's pictureThrive
Apr 9, 20213 min read

Fiji

Population size: 

Female: 49.4%


Fijian women and girls, especially those in rural areas are disadvantaged when it comes to reproductive health. They do not receive adequate resources to care for themselves during menstruation and 25% of primary schools do not have access to adequate sanitation facilities and water supply. Girls can miss up to 20% of school days due to menstruation.

Gender stereotypes have a great impact on girls’ education.

53% of those enrolled in Fijian universities are women. Despite making up half of the number, only a small proportion is enrolled in technical occupations.

Social norms, low salaries and difficult transportation lead to a lack of females in the workforce.


Economy:

Women and girls aged 15+ spend 16.7% of their time on unpaid care and domestic work, compared to 4.9% spent by women.

Girls who completed school and received similar education as men are not as prevalent in the workforce. There are only 65% of women with certificates/ diplomas who are working, compared to 89% of men with the same education.

Women’s annual earnings are less than half of those of men (26%), despite performing 52% of all work.

38.9% of managerial positions are held by women.

38.6% of senior and middle management positions are held by women.


Parliament:

February 2021: 21.6% of seats in parliament were held by women.

Women’s representation has grown significantly from 4.3% in 1995 to 21.6% in 2020


Domestic Abuse:

Women who have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence in their lifetime: 64%

Physical and/or Sexual Intimate Partner Violence in the last 12 months against women: 24%

Lifetime Non-Partner Sexual Violence against women: 9% [2]

4% of women were married before the age of 18.

4% of women aged between 20 and 24 gave birth before 18.

24% of women aged between 15 and 49 believe a man is justified in hitting his wife

In 2022, there were 11 cases of child abuse, 227 cases of domestic violence, 3 cases of rape and 4 cases of sexual harassment.

No research on male victims or other gender identities.


Cost of domestic abuse to the economy each year:

Last year, Professor Biman Prasad, Dean from the University of the South Pacific, calculated that the cost of domestic violence to the Fijian economy was around 6.6 percent of GDP.[3]


Estimated % change due to COVID-19:

In Fiji, the national domestic violence helpline recorded a significant increase in calls in the month of April (around 527), compared to 87 in February and 187 in March. [4]


Current law and policy:

Fiji commits to implement national policy on ending violence against women, improve police response and care services for survivors. Fiji is committed to continue its efforts to address gender-based violence through the implementation of the National Women’s Plan of Action 2010 – 2019, which has the ‘Elimination of Violence against Women’ as one of its five thematic areas of concern. The Ministry for Social Welfare, Women and Poverty Alleviation will revive an Inter-Agency Taskforce on Elimination of Violence against Women and Children. This Interagency Task Force will implement two key outputs targeted for this year: a national policy on Ending Violence against Women and a national Service Protocol for a coordinated, multi-sectoral response to violence against women and children. 


The Fiji Police Force commits to providing a 24-hour turn-around time on serious cases of violence against women and children. To improve its response services to survivors of violence, the percentage of female police officers will be increased from 5 to 20 per cent, with increased female police in frontline service positions. The Police Force will monitor crimes against women and children and share this information on a quarterly basis with the Ministry. Gender will be mainstreamed into all areas of the police force, including recruitment, training, promotion and decision-making processes.


The health sector will expand service availability to Sexual and Reproductive Health Clinics. Fiji will prioritize building capacity for front line health care workers to respond to violence against women and children holistically with medical management, referrals, counselling and appropriate treatment. Medical Officers will be on call so that services are provided 24/7. 

Under the Child Welfare Decree 2010, Fiji makes a new commitment that all health personnel and teachers are mandated to report any case of suspected violence against children presented to them in health clinics or detected in schools. Fiji will strengthen its commitment towards supporting the Safety and Protection Cluster in National Disasters and ensuring that issues relating to gender-based violence during emergencies are prioritized and addressed in a coordinated manner.


Frontline Services:

Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development - https://pacificwomen.org/ - information@pacificwomen.org.fj

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