Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection, Lynda Tabuya says violence and abuse against women and children need attention at all levels of society, especially at the family and village levels as four out of five kids and two out of three women experience some form of abuse and violence in their lives in Fiji.
While launching the International Day for Eradication of Poverty celebrations at Nailuva District School in the interior of Ra, Tabuya says Fiji should be worried about how can we have productive citizens with these sorts of statistics of abuse and violence.
Tabuya says the solutions depend on what we teach our children as parents and guardians.
She challenged villagers of Ra and Fiji to look seriously at trying to not only eradicate poverty but also deal with the issues of abuse and violence against women and children.
The overall theme of the celebrations was “Decent Work and Social Protection: Putting Dignity in Practice for All”, which summed up the government’s commitment to ensure that every Fijian has the opportunity to live a life of dignity and free from the vicious cycle of poverty.
Tabuya further says we cannot ignore the fact that rural Fijians are often left in terms of being provided with the opportunities that are commonly accessed in our urban centres, such as decent work, wages and access to necessities like food, clothing, health services and education.
Fiji National University, Ministry of Youth & Sports, Ministry of Agriculture, iTaukei Trust Board, Ministry of iTaukei Affairs, Fiji National Provident Fund, Bank of the South Pacific, Reserve Bank of Fiji, Tower Insurance, ANZ Bank, Eco-Grow Fiji, Ministry of Health & Medical Services, Ministry of Education, Fiji Correction Services, Department of Social Welfare and the Provincial Administrators Office were also part of the event.
