Call out violence of all forms and let us normalise a world without oppression, says Fiji Women’s Rights Movement executive director Nalini Singh.
She said Fiji had one of the highest rates of domestic violence in the world with two out of every three women having experienced violence from their loved ones in their lifetime.
“Every month the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions publishes horrific statistics around new crimes being committed against women and girls including sexual violence,” Ms Singh said.
“Just last year the Fiji Bureau of Statistics also released for the first time the national prevalence rate of child marriages, with 9 per cent of women in Fiji having been married when they were just girls below the age of 18 years old.
“Even more tragic is the countless number of women’s lives which are lost to domestic violence each year.”
She said violence against women and girls in Fiji was pervasive and prevalent and as women’s and human rights activists, the campaign was an opportunity to speak out against the high rates of violence and to demand the protection of the safety and security of our women and girls.
The FWRM will also be organising activities including a social media campaign during the 16 Days of Activism Against GBV, workshops with organisations on safer workplaces and gender sentitisation.
They will also be commemorating International Human Rights Day and the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 2023.
“We call on the public to follow our social media platforms and take part in the action — call out violence in all its forms.
“Ask yourselves what we can do to break the cycle of violence and show how much you care about ending violence against women and girls by sharing your actions and how you are helping to create a world free from violence towards women and girls.”
