The Pacific Sexual and Gender Diversity Network (PSGDN) has raised serious concerns over the continued use of religious platforms in Fiji to spread harmful and discriminatory rhetoric against LGBTQI+ communities.
PSGDN Interim Chief Executive Officer Loata Tucika said the organisation has directly observed the trend and has also received reports from its national member organisations in Fiji of religious leaders using places of worship, free-to-air television and social media to promote messages that stigmatise already vulnerable groups.
“Places of worship should be spaces of care, compassion and guidance — not platforms for hate or division,” Ms Tucika said.
She warned that when religious leaders use the pulpit or national broadcast platforms to advance beliefs that dehumanise others, the consequences extend beyond speech.
“Such rhetoric creates fear, legitimises discrimination, and places real people at risk,” she said.
Ms Tucika acknowledged that freedom of religion and freedom of expression are fundamental rights, but stressed that they come with responsibilities, particularly for leaders who hold moral authority and public influence.
“Religious leaders are entrusted with providing spiritual guidance to their congregations,” she said.
“That role does not extend to promoting hostility or justifying harm against LGBTQI+ people. Personal beliefs should not be weaponised under the guise of faith.”
PSGDN has called on religious leaders across Fiji to focus on their core spiritual responsibilities and to refrain from using religious or media platforms to promote rhetoric that fuels discrimination or social division.
The organisation has also urged the Online Safety Commission to actively monitor free-to-air broadcasts where religious commentary crosses into harmful or discriminatory speech.
“Broadcast platforms must not become safe havens for unchecked rhetoric that undermines dignity, safety and social cohesion,” Ms Tucika said.
“Monitoring and accountability are essential to ensure public airwaves are not used to normalise harm.”
PSGDN reaffirmed its commitment to respectful dialogue, peaceful coexistence and the protection of human dignity for all people in the Pacific, including LGBTQI+ communities.
“Faith should be a source of unity and healing,” Ms Tucika said, “not a tool for exclusion.”
