THE discovery of a woman’s body at Thurston Gardens in Suva and another woman’s death in Wailoaloa, Nadi, has renewed calls for Fiji to confront the root causes of violence against women, with Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre co-ordinator Shamima Ali warning that patriarchy and the minimisation of women’s suffering continue to undermine efforts to address the crisis.
Ms Ali said Fiji had the research and policy framework to tackle violence against women, but authorities needed to turn evidence and commitments into meaningful action.
“Two national prevalence studies have been done,” she said.
The first study found that 64 per cent of women had experienced physical and sexual violence in their lifetime.
“That is very, very high.”
Ms Ali said Government and civil society had worked together to develop a national prevention plan aimed at addressing violence against women.
“We have an excellent national prevention plan. It was all of civil society, all of government.”
The plan took five years to develop, which she described as a significant achievement, but she questioned whether enough commitment had been given to its implementation.
Ms Ali said efforts to address violence must acknowledged the structural inequalities and power imbalances that put women at risk, rather than diverted attention from their rights.
“When we say global evidence shows it’s patriarchy, it’s a violation of women’s human rights.”
She said male-dominated systems perpetuated inequalities that left women without equal standing in society.
“And therefore women are never on a level playing field.”
