Apenisa Waqairadovu 
Minister for Children Lynda Tabuya has linked the alarming 39 percent rise in crimes against children last month to parental neglect.
Tabuya’s comments follow a Fiji Police Force report revealing that 64 percent of these crimes were sexual offenses, 28 percent were assault-related, and eight percent fell under other categories.
The victims included 90 girls and 78 boys.
The minister has raised the alarm, urging parents to take their responsibilities seriously and safeguard their children.
“Our cases in our ministry, there’s an increasing number of cases of neglect. There’s less reporting of child abuse; there’s more reporting on child neglect. So it matches with the statistics because our children are just left. So what happens when you just leave them? They are vulnerable to family members abusing them.”
Tabuya further cautions parents to ensure they trust the people who care for their children, as the report highlighted that 100 percent of perpetrators were male family members.
“Our cases in our ministry, there’s an increasing number of cases of neglect. There’s less reporting of child abuse; there’s more reporting of child neglect. So it matches with the statistics because our children are just left. So what happens when you just leave them? They are vulnerable to family members abusing them.”
The Minister stresses that it is time for parents to ensure their homes are safe and for the blame game to stop.
She calls on parents and guardians to equip themselves with the skills needed to better protect their children.
