Integrity Fiji Executive Director Joseph Veramu says they will need to do more to ensure that they continue to work on reducing cases of sextortion in Fiji after the release of the Transparency International Global Corruption Barometer Pacific Report 2021 Citizens’ Views and Experiences of Corruption.
According to the report, based on the survey done of 1,000 people in Fiji, lower rates were found in the country at 11%.
This 11% of the people surveyed said they have experienced sextortion or know someone who has.
The report says in this specific manifestation of corruption, sex becomes the currency of the bribe and people are coerced into engaging in sexual acts in exchange for essential services, including health care and education.
Globally, girls and women are overwhelmingly targeted for sextortion.
The report says the results show that almost four in ten respondents out of the 6,000 respondents across the Pacific region (38%) have received requests from public officials that are sexual in nature in exchange for government services or benefits at least once in the past five years, or know someone who has.
The highest rate was reported in French Polynesia, where an alarming 92% of respondents express having experienced this form of corruption themselves or knowing someone who has.
Extremely high rates of sextortion were also reported in New Caledonia (76%) and Papua New Guinea (51%).
Speaking on Fiji’s rating, Veramu says this may also be happening because of the hardships faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He says the 11% sextortion figure in the report for Fiji still needs to be brought down.
