Minister for Women Sashi Kiran has reiterated that Fiji must confront the reality that many children experience violence in places where they should feel safest.
She also stressed that silence and stigma continue to prevent victims from reporting abuse, and that frontline workers must be supported with better tools and training.
“We have gathered here to talk about a very difficult, often hushed but a very important conversation on how we can end sexual violence against our children,” she said during the National Child Protection Symposium held at the Novotel Hotel in Lami.
“Child sexual abuse is not confined to specific settings, it permeates various organisations and communities, affects children in all socioeconomic levels across all racial, ethnic, and cultural groups, and in both rural and urban areas.
“We know children are often powerless and reported cases could just be the tip of the iceberg with many unreported cases and many among us may be living with the trauma of being abused.”
Ms Kiran said many children faced danger in places where they should feel safe.
“This paints a very grim picture that the threat to our children’s safety often exists in the very spaces where they should feel the safest, in their homes, in the care of trusted people around them and in the presence of those who are meant to protect them.
She also spoke about the challenges children face in court, noting that they “are too often revictimized as they have to face the courts and repeat their evidence multiple times to get justice”.
Ms Kiran called for open dialogue on issues that families and communities often avoid.
The symposium was organised to mark three major global observances — International Day for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (PCAN) on November 19, World Children’s Day on November 20, and the16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence from November 25 to December 10.
