Women who are victims of domestic violence are now locked in at home 24/7 with their perpetrators who have lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and there have been a lot of cases of coercive control by violent partners.
This was highlighted by the Coordinator of the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre Shamima Ali who says that 91 percent of the calls they are receiving now are reports of COVID-19 related violence.
In April alone, 498 out of the 669 calls were domestic violence related.
She says they are getting calls from the victims and even their neighbours. These are then referred to police.
Ali says they still believe more cases of domestic violence, rape and child abuse remain under-reported and they continue to work with stakeholders on this issue.
She says she would like to remind the women who are going through this issue that they are not alone.
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