FWRM calls for mandatory sexuality education in schools

The Fiji Women’s Rights Movement is calling for Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), also known as family life education, to be made mandatory in all schools to ensure consistency, protect children from misinformation, and recognise education as a key tool to prevent poor health outcomes, violence, and exploitation.

While making submissions to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights, FWRM Executive Director Nalini Singh says Fiji is currently seeing a rise in sexual behaviour among young people, which is contributing to an increase in unintended teenage pregnancies and HIV infections.

 She referred to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2021, which found that young people aged 15 to 19 were engaging in sex with one or more partners, with low contraceptive use.

Singh says that in 2024, Fiji recorded 1,583 new cases of HIV—representing a 13-fold increase from the usual five-year average. Of these cases, 41 percent were aged 15 or younger, compared to just 11 cases in 2023.

She stressed that comprehensive sexuality education is a structured, age-appropriate curriculum that supports students from primary through secondary school.

Insert: Nalini on CSE, 1st Feb 26

Singh says global evidence confirms that high-quality, age-appropriate CSE does not lead to early sexual activity or risky behaviour.

She says instead, it is linked to delaying the onset of sex, encouraging safer choices, and equipping young people with knowledge to make informed decisions about their health and relationships.

She says many young people in Fiji are engaging in sexual activity without adequate understanding of consent, contraception, or the health risks involved.

Singh adds that girls are often more vulnerable due to the silence around sexual health in families and schools, while boys also lack education on consent and respectful relationships.

FWRM is recommending that Part 5, Division 1 of the legislation be amended to require mandatory, age-appropriate CSE from primary to secondary levels, in line with internationally recognised guidelines.