EMOTIONAL violence is the highest form of gender-based violence (GBV) recorded in a study done in Nadi, but most of the women do not fully understand or recognise GBV.
This is the observation made by GBV advocate Dr Lice Vaniqi while conducting an abuse assessment screening to consenting patients at the Nadi Maternity Antenatal Clinic.
While speaking during the Fiji Medical Association (FMA) Mini Conference 2025, she said most women only identified physical violence as a form of GBV.
“We had a total number of 247 women positive for domestic violence,” Dr Vaniqi said.
“Emotional violence was the highest at 69.3 per cent, physical violence at 43.8 per cent, 13 per cent had physical violence in pregnancy, 10 per cent sexual violence last year, and 33 per cent stated that they feared their partner. Overall, 71.6 per cent were positive for one or more forms of domestic violence, in comparison with the 72 per cent in the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre, with 13 per cent positive for physical violence.
“I’m sure all of us know it, but when I did my research, I found out that a lot of women out in the communities do not understand or know what gender-based violence is.”
She said the women only identified physical violence as a form of GBV, not emotional violence or psychological violence.
“This is why we need awareness on this grave human rights violation.
“We have a very critical and important role in supporting these women, minimising the impact of violence and preventing violence. As I mentioned, two in three women that will come into the clinic that you see have experienced domestic violence. We are the first point of professional contact. Self awareness, this is very important.”
Ms Vaniqi said her study was conducted on 345 consenting women who were booked at the clinic from March to June in 2024.
