THE issue of marital rape raised eyebrows at a campaign in Macuata after many participants learned for the first time that it was a crime.
Participants at the Women Towards Change Campaign organised by the Caumatalevu women’s group and the Vodafone Fiji ATH Foundation at Naduri Village shared how they had always believed submission to their husbands overuled all else, including marital rape.
Chief speaker at the event, Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre project co-ordinator North, Sera Bogitini, told the 30 women that marital rape was a crime and could be reported to the authorities.
Mrs Bogitini said any kind of violence against women was against the law and women had the right to refuse sex if they did not feel like it.
Pasepa Wati, president of the Caumatalevu women’s group, said she believed this was a pressing issue in many areas of the country.
Mrs Wati said it was time women were aware of their rights so they could actively practise it.
The Marama ni Yavusa Naduri, Kalesita Rokomaqa, said marital rape was a lowly and inhumane crime that needed to be stopped because of its effects on women.