The Fijian Government has come out strongly against recent rape cases in the country.
Highlighting government’s own initiatives and programmes designed to curb violence against women and children, the Ministry of Information permanent secretary Sharon Smith Johns has today urged community leaders including senior religious figures to take a lead role and be proactive in addressing these issues.
“As a society we can not simply sit back and ignore these issues, the churches and NGO should play a large part in providing solutions. The safety of our children and our families is everyone’s responsibility. It’s time that everyone in the country takes responsibility.”
“Agencies such as the Fiji Police and the Ministry of Women have been maximising their resources in all areas of the country to address the issue but at the end of the day, parents, guardians and society must also assist.
“The Zero Violence Tolerance Campaign that’s being spearheaded by government has an excellent success record. The thirty villages that form part of this programme have recorded no crime since the program began.”
Condemning recent cases, Ms Smith Johns said that non government organisations and civil society organisations must strengthen their own programmes to help curb violence against women and children.
“We see too many NGOs in the country involved in politics and ignoring these serious issues, these organisations are foreign funded to implement more programmes to curb violence against women and children and this is where Government would like to see financial resources being deployed.
MINFO