Fiji struggles with soaring sex attacks
Thu, January 10 2008
|
Senator
Ponipate Lesavua |
The latest cases occurred over the holiday season. Nadi police are looking for a man who is alleged to have raped a 30 year old woman.
The victim was sleeping at home with her son, when the suspect forcibly entered the house and raped her. In another case, Nausori police are looking for a man who attempted to rape a 16-year-old student. A 19-year-old woman was allegedly gang raped on Christmas day in Sigatoka by seven men who were arrested but later released due to lack of evidence.
Another woman, 23, was forcefully taken in a car and allegedly gang raped by four men at a vacant house in Nausori. Another police investigation is underway into the rape of a 68 year-old woman in her house in the Northern Division. The alleged rape took place in Tovata Settlement, outside Labasa Town.
The 68-year-old woman was asleep in her house when attacked.
No charges have been laid in any of the cases at Press time. There have been 187 cases of rape reported from 2002 to October this year, reports the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre.
Out of these, 54 per cent of the victims were Fijians, 26 per cent were Indians and 20 per cent others. Centre coordinator Shamima Ali said the figures did not mean more Fijian women were victims of rape. “There were low cases of reporting among the Indian women,” she said. “The reason for this is because the stigma is greater. The numbers are about the same for Fijians and Indians.” The highest number of cases reported was 40 in 2003 while for this year alone, 15 cases were reported until October.
In 2002, 36 cases were reported, there were 36 cases in 2004 while in 2005 and 2006, 30 cases were reported respectively. Between 2002 to October this year, 4654 cases of domestic violence were reported, with the highest being 829 cases in 2002.
According to police statistics, while the overall crime rate had decreased by 3 per cent, there was a 1 per cent increase in the number of sexual offences.
There were 347 cases of child abuse in the past five years. While some involved physical abuse, Ali said most were sexually-related cases.
The increasing rapes reported to police is a result of poor parenting in village areas, said a former Senator.
Ponipate Lesavua said most children living in villages were not getting the parental guidance they needed.
He said most times parents busy with other activities. “This shows that majority of families in villages lack family values,” he said. “Parents need to spend more time with their children.”
He said research by senators showed the majority of indigenous Fijian parents in villagers were not spending enough time with their children. He said the study focused on issues affecting young people drugs, alcohol abuse and crime.
“I seriously think that there is a breakdown in our indigenous Fijian parental leadership in villages and so often some parental priorities are misguided.
“Most parents in the villages dwell too much on other activities like church meetings, friends and drinking grog when they need to spend more time with their children who are left on their own,” he said.
He said the reports revealed that rapes occurred mainly in settlements or villages. He said any child left alone was being put at risk of being taking advantage of or they would find unsavoury ways alternatives to amuse themselves. He said these children would most likely stray to illegal behaviour. “It is evident parents don’t pay enough attention to children.”
The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) provides crisis counselling and legal, medical and other practical support services for women and children who are sufferers and survivors of violence committed against them by men.
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