Minister for Women and Children, Mereseini Vuniwaqa has called on people to join her and the Prime Minister to instill good values in our sons to always respect girls, to see them as equals and to support their dreams.
And she says attempting to porn block online can never be the answer as the block has been impossible in other countries.
While responding to SODELPA MP, Lynda Tabuya’s end of the week statement in parliament on the Fiji Free From Porn Initiative, Vuniwaqa says she is no defender of pornography but she disagrees with Tabuya on how we get there as porn blocking is impossible.
She says the answer is teaching our children good values and always checking on the internet surfing history of our children.
Vuniwaqa says she believes porn is bad, it is destructive, vile and should never fall into the hands of children.
She says while Tabuya is talking about the porn block in the UK, the Minister says Tabuya failed to say that this attempt by the UK has been delayed indefinitely in 2019 as it was impossible to achieve success.
The Minister for Women also says that an example of this ineffective plan is the porn block in Egypt in 2009 and the UN Women report stating in 2013 that 99 percent of women in Egypt were sexually harassed.
Vuniwaqa also confirms that the three telecommunications companies have written to the Attorney General confirming that they have had zero communication with Lynda Tabuya and have not disclosed any statistics to her.
She says porn is impossible to ban and it is the responsibility of parents to continue to teach their children good values.
She also asked Tabuya if she proposes to lock up any of her supporters watching porn in the privacy of their own homes.
All three telecommunications companies have also stated to Legend FM News that they do not share customers’ online browsing data with others.
Vodafone Fiji confirms that it treats its customer confidentiality with utmost priority and does not condone any breach or leakage of consumer information.
Vodafone Fiji says it puts on record that it does not track its customer’s online activity nor does it provide any of its customer’s individual or aggregated data usage information to any third party.
Digicel has also stressed that it does not share online browsing activity of it’s customers with others.
Digicel CEO, Mike Greig says Digicel treats it’s customer information with the utmost confidentiality.
Telecom Fiji is assuring all Fijians that the online browsing activity of their customers is not being tracked and their data and privacy is safe.
This comes in light of claims made in the media that certain telecommunications companies provided information on sites that Fijians browse.
Telecom CEO, Charles Goundar says Telecom customers can rest assured knowing that their privacy is of utmost importance to them.
He says while they cannot speak for other telecommunications companies, they would like to assure all their users that their data and browsing habits are not being tracked and they will never release any customer information to any third parties unless there is a criminal case and a warrant is provided.
Goundar says they believe it is a matter of ethics and they are also following the guidelines set by the Fijian Constitution.
He says the right to privacy is guaranteed for Fijians under section 24 of the constitution which states that every person has the right to personal privacy, which includes the right to — (a) confidentiality of their personal information; (b) confidentiality of their communications; and (c) respect for their private and family life.
Goundar says their customers cannot only enjoy super fast internet speeds, downloads, streaming on Netflix and YouTube, but also do it in peace knowing that their information will never be released.
Meanwhile Lynda Tabuya who is part of the “Fiji Free from Porn Movement” made up of concerned parents, maintains that the worrying trend on porn access in Fiji has been revealed to her by telecommunications companies.
Following the statement by the telecommunications companies that they do not share or track online browsing activity of customers, Tabuya has told Legend FM News that she will not reveal her sources and it is up to anyone to refute the claim.
While speaking in parliament, Tabuya says new studies have linked porn to worsening the crime and drug epidemic and in particular the growing violence against women.
She says the highest viewing time of porn in Fiji is Sunday morning.
The SODELPA MP also says that figures released state that Fiji has been ranked in the top 10 countries in the world in terms of the percentage of searches for the word “porn”, according to figures compiled by Google Trends.
She says Fiji is ranked 4th in percentage for searches of the word “porn” and 9th for searches of the word “pornography” in the world.
Tabuya says a 2011 US research paper on the effects of porn on children states that the average age of first internet exposure to pornography is 11 years and this age is getting younger and younger all the time, and 90% of 8-16-year-olds have viewed porn online; most admit that it is while doing homework.
She also says that pornography gives children unrealistic ideas about sex (often that violence is appropriate and women are to be subjugated) and the opposite gender, affecting their ability to develop healthy relationships. They also say that porn usually depicts a woman receiving physical and verbal abuse and smiling about it.
Tabuya says the policy efforts that would complement the work done by the Fiji Women's Crisis Centre and Ministry of Women in addressing sexual violence include :
1. The Porn Block - The porn block is an ambitious attempt by UK policymakers to restrict access to pornographic websites by underage children.
2. Raise Awareness - Just with any social evils such as drugs, awareness campaigns must be launched to inform the public about the dangers of porn addiction. “Fiji Free from Porn” is one such initiative. Spearheaded by concerned fathers and mothers, the idea of the campaign is to raise awareness in Fiji on the harms of porn. They are working with religious leaders, traditional leaders, and schools on better education and also equipping parents with resources to help their children.
3. Centres to help porn addicts.
Stay tuned for the latest news on our radio stations
