A book on stories of Fijian women who survived abusive relationships has been released in Australia and New Zealand.
‘Disruptive Voices of Fijian Women’ is a collection of stories where 10 women shared their stories in the hope of encouraging others to speak up about their situations.
Australian author Letitia Shelton, who lived in Fiji with her family when she was 15, wrote the book after hearing stories of abuse against women.
“I heard many women’s stories and just felt like I needed to write a book to highlight the tragedy they have been through and give them a voice,” she said.
“I realise in Fiji that all too often, issues of abuse are just swept under the carpet to keep the peace and not bring shame to the family.
“But this never helps the victim as they continue to suffer while the perpetrator roams free so last year, I worked with 10 women to get their stories down in writing.”
She said the stories relayed the heartbreaking experiences of abuse they suffered from men in their families, churches and neighbourhoods.
“We now need to disrupt the silence that all too often exists in Fiji when it comes to abuse.
“We encourage women to get healing and help and we need to educate a young generation that this behaviour is not normal and should not be tolerated.”
