Latest news with #FWRM
Scoop
29-07-2025
- Health
- Scoop
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.
Scoop
25-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Feminist Leaders Challenge GBV Policy Paper That Recentres Patriarchy And Undermines Survivor-Centred Approaches
Fijian feminist leaders from the Fiji Women's Crisis Centre (FWCC) and Fiji Women's Rights Movement (FWRM) are raising strong concerns over a recent policy paper titled 'Masculinities and Gender-based Violence in Fiji: The Perceptions of iTaukei Men' by Avelina Rokoduru. The paper, published under the New Zealand Pacific Gender Research Portal, has prompted concerns for recentering patriarchal narratives, minimising survivors' voices, and misrepresenting feminism as incompatible with Pacific contexts. While it is important to engage men in efforts to end gender-based violence (GBV), feminist advocates argue that this paper, which contains perspectives of only 31 men, dangerously prioritises male discomfort over survivor safety and accountability. It positions feminist approaches as ineffective and even obstructive—despite decades of proven leadership by women's rights organisations in Fiji and the Pacific. 'Feminism is not an external import—it is deeply rooted in the Pacific and led by women who have long worked within our cultures, faiths, and values to end violence,' said Nalini Singh, Executive Director of FWRM. 'To frame feminist work as a barrier to national policy is not only misleading—it is dangerous.' The paper argues that Fiji's GBV response has been hindered by a feminist lens that centres survivors, and suggests policy should be reshaped to reflect men's perspectives and their resistance to current gender discourses. We argue this is a regressive move that reinscribes patriarchy—a system where male dominance is normalised, and women's experiences are devalued. In reality, feminist-led organisations such as the FWCC, FWRM and DIVA for Equality, and others have driven the most robust national data collection and service delivery on GBV, including the landmark prevalence studies by FWCC (Somebody's Life, Everybody's Business: National Research on Women's Health and Life Experiences in Fiji (2010/2011)) and DIVA for Equality ('Unjust, Unequal, Unstoppable: Fiji LBT women and gender non-conforming people tipping the scales toward justice' (2022)). Yet the paper falsely implies that feminists have prevented data collection on perpetrators, deflecting attention away from state institutions that remain underfunded or uncoordinated. The paper also frames gender equality as a 'Western' concept, ignoring the long history of Pacific women who have embedded gender justice within cultural, Indigenous, and spiritual frameworks. Feminists caution that such framing can serve to reinforce patriarchal power under the guise of cultural authenticity. Critically, the paper fails to apply an intersectional lens, excluding voices of LGBTQI+ individuals, women with disabilities, rural and young women—those most affected by GBV and most neglected in state responses. The paper also uses terms like "incompatibility" and "communication breakdown" to explain GBV, rather than clearly naming power and patriarchy as root causes of violence. 'Gender-based violence is about power, not culture,' said Shamima Ali, Coordinator of FWCC. 'Culture can be a tool of healing or harm—what matters is whether it protects rights and promotes safety. This paper sadly reinforces the idea that addressing GBV means making men feel comfortable, rather than making women and survivors feel safe.' Feminist networks across the Pacific are calling for renewed focus on survivor-centred, intersectional, and anti-patriarchal policies that address the root causes of violence. They stress the need for stronger investment in feminist research, movement-building, and structural reform—not a return to systems that normalise male control. 'We cannot end GBV by reinforcing the same patriarchal logic that created it,' said Nalini Singh. 'We need political courage to move forward—not policy dressed up in gendered neutrality that quietly protects the status quo.' The one useful contribution the paper makes is that it reinforces what has been said by Fijian and Pacific feminists, but purely anecdotally, and makes no new findings. Feminist advocates are urging everyone to: • Recognise and respect the leadership of Pacific feminist and survivor-led organisations; • Ensure future research on GBV is grounded in intersectional and rights-based frameworks; • Reject narratives that pit masculinities against feminism; and • Name and dismantle patriarchy in both policy and practice.
Scoop
01-06-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Break The Silence On Periods, Change Mindsets
Press Release – Fiji Women's Rights Movement The annual event, with almost 180 participants from different communities around Suva, is a platform used to share awareness and information about menstruation and its related issues. Let us break the silence, change mindsets and start openly talking about periods. This was the sentiment shared today at the Fiji Women's Rights Movement Let's Talk Periods festival held in Suva to mark World Menstrual Health Day this week. Opening the event, FWRM Governance Board Chair called for an end to the stigma on periods and advocating for better WASH facilities in schools. The annual event, with almost 180 participants from different communities around Suva, is a platform used to share awareness and information about menstruation and its related issues. 'Whatever that is held as taboo does not make sense now – times have changed. We need to talk about periods, we need to make our voices louder so that we can have respectable dignified experiences when we get our periods and unless we have those open and honest conversations, we are never going to come out of this cycle of stigmatising periods. It is our responsibility to ensure that our menstrual needs and health is well taken care of,' FWRM Executive Director Nalini Singh said. Ms Singh made the remarks during an intergenerational panel facilitated during the programme that included shared experiences from panelists in their different stages of the menstrual cycle. 'Periods are normal. It is natural. It is your body talking to you. If you don't get your period, then you know something is wrong. It is not something you should be ashamed of, it's a living breathing rhythm that reminds me of the fact that I am a woman,' said Jessica Work, International Planned Parenthood Fiji representative. Another panelist, Shurti Sharma, a graduate of FWRM's (GIRLS) Program highlighted the need for schools to integrate menstrual health and hygiene learning in the curriculum. 'Make safe spaces in schools for students to talk openly about menstruation and the experiences you go through. A lot of the times, teachers are often shying away from these conversations and the risk is messages and information are often not being shared accurately, 'Shurti said. FWRM believes in more awareness and information on sexual and reproductive health in our educational curriculums, especially targeted towards our girls. Comprehensive Sexuality Education would ensure that topics such as menstrual health and hygiene is delivered in a much more effective way. Other issues raised during the event was the need to provide free menstrual products and to avail them in schools, restrooms, prisons and other public places; the removal of the shame of being on your period and the need for men to attend such events to learn more about women's bodies and to understand the experiences women have with their periods. The programme included partners who collaborated with FWRM to open up booths for information sharing and awareness on a range of issues such as menstrual health and hygiene, myths, taboos, reproductive health, bodily autonomy and more. Let's Talk Periods 2025 was supported by the Australian Government in partnership with Pacific Menstrual Health Network and Water Aid. 'It begins with us. Those of you who have come here, you have probably come with younger members of your families. It is up to you now to go back and have conversations about normalising periods beginning from your homes,'Ms Singh added.
Scoop
01-06-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Break The Silence On Periods, Change Mindsets
Let us break the silence, change mindsets and start openly talking about periods. This was the sentiment shared today at the Fiji Women's Rights Movement Let's Talk Periods festival held in Suva to mark World Menstrual Health Day this week. Opening the event, FWRM Governance Board Chair called for an end to the stigma on periods and advocating for better WASH facilities in schools. The annual event, with almost 180 participants from different communities around Suva, is a platform used to share awareness and information about menstruation and its related issues. 'Whatever that is held as taboo does not make sense now - times have changed. We need to talk about periods, we need to make our voices louder so that we can have respectable dignified experiences when we get our periods and unless we have those open and honest conversations, we are never going to come out of this cycle of stigmatising periods. It is our responsibility to ensure that our menstrual needs and health is well taken care of,' FWRM Executive Director Nalini Singh said. Ms Singh made the remarks during an intergenerational panel facilitated during the programme that included shared experiences from panelists in their different stages of the menstrual cycle. 'Periods are normal. It is natural. It is your body talking to you. If you don't get your period, then you know something is wrong. It is not something you should be ashamed of, it's a living breathing rhythm that reminds me of the fact that I am a woman,' said Jessica Work, International Planned Parenthood Fiji representative. Another panelist, Shurti Sharma, a graduate of FWRM's (GIRLS) Program highlighted the need for schools to integrate menstrual health and hygiene learning in the curriculum. 'Make safe spaces in schools for students to talk openly about menstruation and the experiences you go through. A lot of the times, teachers are often shying away from these conversations and the risk is messages and information are often not being shared accurately, 'Shurti said. FWRM believes in more awareness and information on sexual and reproductive health in our educational curriculums, especially targeted towards our girls. Comprehensive Sexuality Education would ensure that topics such as menstrual health and hygiene is delivered in a much more effective way. Other issues raised during the event was the need to provide free menstrual products and to avail them in schools, restrooms, prisons and other public places; the removal of the shame of being on your period and the need for men to attend such events to learn more about women's bodies and to understand the experiences women have with their periods. The programme included partners who collaborated with FWRM to open up booths for information sharing and awareness on a range of issues such as menstrual health and hygiene, myths, taboos, reproductive health, bodily autonomy and more. Let's Talk Periods 2025 was supported by the Australian Government in partnership with Pacific Menstrual Health Network and Water Aid. 'It begins with us. Those of you who have come here, you have probably come with younger members of your families. It is up to you now to go back and have conversations about normalising periods beginning from your homes,'Ms Singh added.
Scoop
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Fiji: Patriarchy Is The Root Cause Of Violence
Press Release – Fiji Women's Rights Movement FWRM calls for more constructive dialogue on how to address violence and create a safe environment for the vulnerable in our households, especially for victims/survivors of abuse. FWRM strongly demands that our leaders refrain from making frivolous, careless and uninformed statements that further perpetuate acts of violence. We also remind them of the root cause of violence that is clearly stated in the Fiji National Action Plan (NAP) to Prevent Violence Against All Women and Girls 2023-2028 – patriarchy! Implying that men are highly inclined to commit violence due to unhealed trauma and financial struggles not only shifts the responsibility away from the perpetrators but also puts vulnerable members of our communities at risk, especially women and children who may already be experiencing abuse at home. 'Domestic violence stems from the choice to use power and control over another person. The cause of violence is rooted in patriarchy that reinforces societal norms and gender inequality that tolerates abuse against women. Our leaders need to learn and understand the roots of gender-based violence and its far-reaching consequences as it impacts not just on the women and children but whole communities and societies,' FWRM Executive Director, Nalini Singh said. FWRM calls for more constructive dialogue on how to address violence and create a safe environment for the vulnerable in our households, especially for victims/survivors of abuse. According to FWRM research, women who have faced violence experienced barriers accessing justice due to legal, financial, geographical or practical barriers. Our leaders need to be more focused on ensuring that justice systems are accessible, responsive and victim-friendly, and they must tackle the root causes of violence. FWRM looks forward to the further implementation of strategies in the Fiji NAP, which also fosters collaboration between all stakeholders. We also call for a clear, unapologetic focus on ending gender-based violence through a human rights approach, one that demands accountability, addresses trauma, and dismantles the systems that allow violence to thrive. Violence against women in Fiji is rife. We need to act now!
