Child abusers are despicable - Kiran warns perpetrators

There has to be something very sick in your mind for somebody to be able to prey on their own child or their own nieces or grandchildren. It is very despicable, and you will be found.

This was the strong warning delivered by Minister for Women and Children Sashi Kiran when speaking to fijivillage News, as she highlighted Fiji’s urgent crisis of child sexual abuse and stressed that every offender will be held accountable.

Kiran says the most common offences include rape, sexual assault, indecent assault, defilement, abduction for sexual purposes and violence.

She says Ministry data shows that 73 percent of perpetrators are family members, guardians or trusted individuals, meaning the abuse often occurs in places where children should feel safest.

She says the threat exists within homes and among those who are meant to protect children.

Also, while delivering her speech during the Symposium on Child Sexual Abuse in Fiji at the Novotel Conference Room in Lami this morning, Kiran presented Fiji Police data from 2020 to 2024, which shows that child sexual abuse remains the most pervasive and alarming crime committed against children.

Over the five-year period, 4,159 child sexual offences were recorded — the highest category of crimes against children.

Kiran says girls remain disproportionately affected, consistently making up more than 70 percent of all child victims.

She also noted that adolescents aged 13 to 17 years are most at risk, accounting for over 60 percent of victims annually. Vulnerability increases during puberty, often intersecting with grooming, exploitation and intimate partner violence involving older perpetrators.

The Minister says disturbingly, 5 percent of all cases involved infants, showing that even the youngest children are not spared.

She also highlighted ethnicity data since 2022, which shows more than 1,000 cases annually have been reported among iTaukei children, while children of Indian descent form the second-highest victim group.

Kiran says this helps identify where prevention efforts must be strengthened in culturally appropriate ways.

She adds that teenage pregnancy data further adds to the concern.

The Minister says in the first six months of 2024, 8 girls under 15 became mothers, while 401 girls aged 15 to 18 gave birth. Overall, more than 850 teenage pregnancies were recorded, including 17 involving girls under 15.

She says these are children who belong in classrooms, not delivery wards, and that trusted adults are too often preying on them.