United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2022). World Population Prospects 2022, Online Edition. Estimates 2021.
Proportion of women aged 18–64 years experiencing sexual violence perpetrated by someone other than an intimate partner since age 15. Source: Fiji Women's Crisis Centre, 2013. National Research on Women's Health and Life Experiences in Fiji (2010/11): A Survey Exploring the Prevalence, Incidence and Attitudes to Intimate Partner Violence in Fiji. Suva, Fiji.
Proportion of ever-partnered women aged 18-64 years experiencing intimate partner physical and/or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime. Source: Fiji Women's Crisis Centre, 2013. National Research on Women's Health and Life Experiences in Fiji (2010/11): A Survey Exploring the Prevalence, Incidence and Attitudes to Intimate Partner Violence in Fiji. Suva, Fiji.
Proportion of ever-partnered women aged 18-64 years experiencing intimate partner physical and/or sexual violence in the last 12 months. Source: Fiji Women's Crisis Centre, 2013. National Research on Women's Health and Life Experiences in Fiji (2010/11): A Survey Exploring the Prevalence, Incidence and Attitudes to Intimate Partner Violence in Fiji. Suva, Fiji.
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(a) Strengthen the implementation of the national action plan to prevent violence against all women and girls for the period 2023–2028; ensure that evidence related to survivors’ prior sexual history or character is inadmissible as evidence in judicial proceedings concerning cases of sexual violence; and strengthen survivor-centred support services, including by increasing the number and geographical coverage of accessible shelters and access to protection orders, providing tailored services for women and girls with disabilities and strengthening witness protection in cases of gender-based violence against women and girls; (b) Strengthen the implementation of the Online Safety Act (2018) and other mechanisms with a view to holding social media companies accountable for user-generated content in incidents of online harassment and gender-based violence against women and girls, and for the prompt removal of such content; ensure that such companies have effective reporting mechanisms; and prosecute and adequately punish perpetrators of online harassment and gender-based violence against women and girls. |
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(a) Strictly enforce the minimum age of marriage of 18 years for both women and men in section 29 of the Marriage Act (1968), without exceptions; increase penalties for those who marry minors or administer or consent to early unions; and require the civil registration of all marriages at the time of their conclusion; (b) Take concrete steps to eliminate discriminatory customary practices and gender stereotypes that limit the equal inheritance and property rights of women in marriage, including though legal reforms to ensure that statutory laws take precedence over customary laws and by engaging with traditional and religious leaders, in particular in rural and iTaukei communities; and provide mandatory and regular training to family court judges, lawyers, mediators and other legal professionals on the equal rights of women in marriage under the Convention; (c) Collect data on the impact of divorce on poverty among women; provide financial support to women seeking divorce, especially victims of intimate partner violence; and ensure that they have access to affordable housing, legal aid and employment in order to reduce their economic dependence on their husbands and strengthen their autonomy; (d) Conduct a comprehensive gender impact assessment of the Family Law Act (2003), within a specified time frame; and ensure that it includes gender responsive criteria for decisions on child custody, including previous labour division between parents and records of domestic violence; (e) Establish a legal framework for the recognition of same-sex partnerships, such as civil unions or registered partnerships, to ensure the legal and economic protection of women in such unions, as well as their nondiscriminatory access to adoption. |
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(a) Harmonize its national legislation on trafficking, including the Crimes Act (2009) and the Immigration Act (2003), with the Palermo Protocol; (b) Allocate sufficient financial, human and technical resources for the implementation of the revised national action plan to combat trafficking; (c) Ensure that all cases of trafficking, including sex trafficking and exploitation in domestic servitude, are effectively investigated and prosecuted and that traffickers and their accomplices receive sentences that are commensurate with the gravity of the crime; (d) Establish a national referral mechanism and provide capacity building to the judiciary, lawyers, law enforcement officials, immigration officers, border guards, social workers, health professionals and members of civil society organizations on the strict application of legislation to combat trafficking in women and girls, on gender-sensitive investigation and interrogation methods and on the early identification and referral to appropriate services of victims of trafficking; and ensure that victims of trafficking are not inadvertently placed in detention or subject to removal procedures; (e) Eliminate economic and other barriers that prevent women and girls who are victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation from having access to shelters and legal assistance, and strengthen victim support services and rehabilitation and reintegration programmes; (f) Decriminalize women in prostitution, discourage the demand for prostitution and provide exit strategies, including alternative income-generating opportunities, for women who wish to leave prostitution. |
There are no provisions related to VAWG in the Constitution.
Domestic Violence Act, 2009. However, it focuses on ‘family or domestic relationship’ without explicitly recognizing violence as a form of structural or gendered inequality, being gender-neutral in language and framing.
Fiji National Action Plan to Prevent Violence Against All Women and Girls 2023-2028.
However, Violence against women is integrated within the Fiji National Gender Policy (2014).
Employment Relations Act 2007: EMP 76 Sexual Harassment.
Human Rights Commission Decree 2009, Part 3, Art. 19(2).
Marital rape is not explicitly criminalized. Rape is defined in the Crimes Act 2009 (s 207). However, Court decisions relating to rape within marriage make clear that rape is illegal in Fiji, regardless of relationship status.
Family Law Act 2003 and Marriage Act 1968
Marriage Act (Amendment) Decree 2009 s 12 minimum marriageable age is set at 18 for both males and females, further the Marriage Act (Amendment) Decree 2009 s 29 establishes marriage of a minor as a criminal offence.
Department of Women, Ministry for Women, Children and Social Protection (MWCSP). Fiji has a National Service Delivery Protocol for Responding to Cases of Gender Based Violence and an EVAW Task Force (led by the MWCSP) that provides oversight for the implementation of the SDP and the NAP, and includes representation from Government ministries, Fijian CSOs, and development partners.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) publishes monthly statistics as well as annual reports on serious sexual offences, disaggregated by sex and age.
There are no VAWG specialized courts in Fiji. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has a Sexual Crimes Division (SCD), a specialist unit responsible for prosecuting sexual and gender based violence (SGBV), child sexual abuse (CSA), other crimes where children are victims.
The report from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions states that in 2025, 126 cases of serious sexual offences were filed in the High Court (252 separate charges). A total of 141 people were accused of these crimes. There were 135 victims in total. Out of these victims, 79 were children. Among all victims, 20 were female and 15 were male.
To ensure indiscriminate access to justice, Legal Aid Commission (LAC) has since 2014, a total of 16 operational LAC offices.
The Fiji Police Force Crime Statistics Annual Report 2021, published in 2022, is the latest publicly available. In 2025, the Fiji Police Force published on social media monthly bulletins with crime statistics, including domestic violence.
Fiji does not have police units specialized on EVAWG. VAWG Cases are handled by the Fiji Police Force (FPF).
In 2021, 983 cases of domestic violence were recorded by the police. Among the victims, 753 were women, 171 were girls, and 59 were boys. Assault causing actual bodily harm was the most frequently reported offence, with 700 cases. Other notable offences included common assault, indecent assault, and rape.
In Fiji, administrative data on social services for violence against women are available from the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC).
Number of counseling services provided in 2024 by the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre Statistics (FWCC).
Statistics from FWCC on counseling services are available here.
MHMS released the National GBV Guidelines for Health in 2023; conducted regional training of trainers followed by a national training of trainers in Fiji; facilitated a nationwide rollout of GBV guidelines in the same year; offers expert medical care, treatment, and referrals to GBV victims; provides clinical management, including forensic investigations, in a private and confidential setting; ensures the presence of health staff of the opposite sex for clients below 18 years of age.