The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) is working with the Fiji Bureau of Statistics (FBOS) to carry out a national prevalence study of domestic violence in the country.
FWCC co-ordinator Shamima Ali said the prevalence study was usually carried out after a lapse of a decade, however, they could not do this in 2021 because of COVID.
The last prevalence study titled Somebody’s Life, Everybody’s Business! National Research on Women’s Health and Life Experiences in Fiji (2010/2011) explored the prevalence, incidences, and attitudes to intimate partner violence in Fiji.
“We’ve already launched it; we started in partnership with the Fiji Bureau of Statistics with their expertise and feminist researchers from Melbourne,” Ms Ali said.
She said the research teams would go out into the field later this year and they aim to complete the report by 2025.
“We will have a report that will tell us whether it’s still there, whether it has increased or decreased.
We don’t know.
There is increased reporting, but unless we do a comparative study, we cannot say that.
“The last one is quoted everywhere, internationally.
The policies are built on that, have something to do with the last one of course.”
Ms Ali said the last study showed that 64 per cent of women experienced intimate partner violence.
“If you look at our data and when we compare it, it shows us between 63 to 66 per cent.
But we will do a thorough study this year and that will show us more accurately where we are going.”
