THE partner that is supposed to support, protect and love, you are the ones killing, says Women Minister Sashi Kiran.
Speaking to the media in Nadi last Saturday, Ms Kiran said this was not the Fiji that we were living in.
“I know when somebody thinks when they are in love, they pray and hope that they (partner) will change.
“But with the number of deaths we have seen this year, that is not necessarily the case.
“So, we can only sympathise with those families, and we hope and pray that as a nation we will rise so that we do not lose any other human being in an intimate partner relationship.
“Because the intimate partners, the trust, hope, and love for the other partner — the partner that is supposed to support, protect and love you are the ones killing. That is not the Fiji warmth we live in.
“Hopefully, we can change this scenario around but for that we need every individual’s help, neighbour’s, family members we all need you to rise to make sure that no other life is lost in future.
“While people are making individual choices, they believe at that particular time that they are making the best choice when they fall in love and when they go with a partner, they think that their partner will love and protect them.
“So, we can question their choices but the choice that they make at whatever time, they probably saw the best in the other person to decide to leave their lives with them, and it does not always turn out right.
“In this regard I do think that the family elders, the faith leaders can play a bigger role.
“We do see a lot of marriages going through troubled times, children getting neglected and we need a lot more counselling around marriages and support system in intimate partner relationships.
“And there is a lot of work ahead.”
Ms Kiran said some of the work the ministry was doing were “extremely traumatising work”.
“The discipline forces work, medical professionals work is not easy work and generally we know that within the Fiji Corrections Service they have to deal with extreme levels of stress, so we do hope that the employers are providing the right kind of support and have counselling and debrief and care available.
“Because at the end of the day a lot of people carry those stresses and things escalate very quickly.
“So, each employer, especially when it is stress-related work, needs to relook at how care and safety is provided for their staff.”
