29-07-2025
Not Just A Baby In A Bin: Confronting Systemic Failure And Reproductive Injustice In Fiji
Fiji Women's Rights Movement (FWRM), as an organisation committed to gender equality and reproductive justice in Fiji, The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) a global healthcare provider and a leading advocate for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in the region along with its Fiji Member Association (MA) - the Reproductive Family Health Association of Fiji (RFHAF), are outraged and deeply saddened by the discovery of a newborn baby boy abandoned in a sanitary bin inside the washroom of a tertiary institution's hostel in Lautoka. The infant, thankfully alive when found by a student after hearing his cries, was cared for by hostel staff and transferred to the hospital. This occurred in a place of learning, where young people should be safe and supported, is both shocking and heartbreaking.
This incident must not be treated as a sensational story or isolated act of desperation. It is a clear and painful signal of multiple system failures – lack of access to safe and affordable sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, in education, in public health outreach, and in how our society treats young women, especially when they are vulnerable and in crisis.
From a feminist perspective, this is fundamentally an issue of reproductive justice. No woman or girl should feel so alone, unsupported, or afraid that she is left with no option but to abandon her newborn in secrecy and fear. Shame, stigma, and silence—particularly around unplanned pregnancy, sexuality, and reproductive decision-making—continue to control the lives of too many young women in Fiji. These conditions are created by patriarchal norms and worsened by a lack of access to accurate information, non-judgmental support, and safe, confidential services. Right to reproductive health continues to be controlled, policed, and politicised by the unjust systems.
We are particularly concerned that this happened in a tertiary institution—spaces that should not only educate but protect. This highlights the urgent need to implement Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) and to fully integrate it in our school curriculum including tertiary institutions. The absence of accessible counselling, reproductive health information, and emergency support options in such settings is unacceptable. Institutions must take immediate responsibility for ensuring students have somewhere safe to turn when in crisis. Without CSE, young people are left uninformed and unprepared, made more vulnerable to exploitation, unwanted pregnancy, and unsafe outcomes like this one.
Fiji has ratified the Convention on the Rights of The Child (CRC) in 1993 whereby CRC strongly advocates for the realization of children's and adolescents' sexual and reproductive health and rights, urging states to ensure universal access to comprehensive SRH services and information.
Fiji's youth have the right to access accurate, age-appropriate, evidence-based education on consent, contraception, reproductive choices, emotional relationships, and bodily autonomy. Denying them this knowledge is not only negligent—it is dangerous. We cannot continue to push for outdated 'abstinence-only' narrative when our young people are exploring their SRH.
Sexual and reproductive health and rights are essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Specific targets in Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and Goal 5 (Gender Equality) directly focus on ensuring universal access to SRH services, family planning, information, and education, as well as integrating reproductive health into national strategies.
Rather than respond with blame or punishment, we call for empathy, compassion, accountability, and reform. This must include a full and gender-sensitive investigation that respects the dignity and privacy of the woman involved. It is critical to create a safe and accessible spaces in healthcare settings that respect young women's individuals' autonomy and offer non-judgmental support.
She is not the problem—our systems are. We must ensure tertiary institutions have clear, confidential pathways for students to access reproductive health services, counselling, and support before, during, and after pregnancy. These confidential and non-discriminatory services are offered by RFHAF in Suva and Sigatoka.
Fiji must also explore options like anonymous safe-surrender mechanisms, supported by social services and health workers that give women in crisis a humane alternative. In parallel, we must strengthen public education to dismantle the stigma and shame that push women into isolation.
This baby must now be protected, cared for, and given every chance at a healthy life—but we must also care for the mother. We cannot allow this tragedy to be repeated in silence. If we are serious about valuing life, we must be serious about supporting the lives of women and girls, too.
