BACKGROUND

There are 22  Pacific Island Countries/ Territories in the region. Some countries in the region remain colonies and trust territories with movements for independence continuing. The Pacific Island countries while generally viewed as ideal tourist destinations are predominantly molded by traditional patriarchal structures, which are steeped in cultural and religious practices and ultimately, demonstrated in the government and other bureaucratic processes.

Violence against women is prevalent in the Pacific and for most of the past ten years, there has been a deathly silence surrounding the issue except for that raised by the women NGOs working towards its elimination. Violence against women which is compounded by traditional practices of the Pacific remains largely under-reported in all countries of the Pacific and is often sanctioned by various cultural practices.

The Pacific Women’s Network Against Violence against women which was initiated by the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre was formed in 1992 and includes 23 organisations from 10 different countries of the region. The Network members are in the forefront of work against violence against women and are constantly battling the traditional attitudes, bureaucratic processes and the low status accorded to women in the Pacific. Grudgingly the issue of violence against women has been acknowledged by various authorities and is slowly being recognised as a serious issue of concern.

"If it were between countries, we'd call it a war. If it were a disease, we would call it an epidemic. If  it were an oil spill, we'd call it a disaster but it is happening to women and it is just an everyday affair.

It is sexual harassment at work and sexual abuse of the young. It is the beating or the blow that millions of women suffer each and every day. It is rape at home or on a date. It is murder."
Micheal Kaufman, co-founder of the Canadian White Ribbon Campaign .

Violence against women which includes domestic violence, sexual assault and the raping of women and children has for a long time been considered a private issue. It was only through the persistence of the women in the women's movement that issue has been brought to the fore.  A decade or even up to five years ago, the issue of violence against women was very rarely discussed at regional or even at national level. As we talk about Beijing +10, violence against women is on everyone’s agenda but I remember during regional and national preparations for the Beijing Conference, we had to fight to get the issue of violence against women on the agenda as an issue of concern for the Pacific or even for Fiji, and that was the attitude amongst women's groups and funding agencies.

Violence Against Women in Fiji: Report From The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre
For The Special Rapporteur On Violence Against Women

We would like to thank the UN Special Rapporteur for providing us with this opportunity to report on the status of our country's progress in terms of implementing programs to eliminate violence against women.

 The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre
The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) is a multi-racial non-government organisation (NGO)  that was established in 1984 and is committed to the betterment of women’s lives through collective efforts against violence. FWCC provides a number of services to address the issue of violence against women, including free and confidential, non-judgmental crisis counselling for victims/survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and sexual harassment.  FWCC counsellors also provide victims/survivors with legal advice and accompany or refer their clients to court, police stations, hospitals and other agencies, upon request.  FWCC also has a 24-hour telephone counselling line.  Since opening its doors, FWCC has expanded and today has branches in three other parts of Fiji.