The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre reported a staggering 16 cases of intimate partner violence on Monday, a day before hundreds took to the streets of Suva to mark World Human Rights Day.

FWCC Coordinator Shamima Ali said the alarming figure exposes the urgent need to address the growing issue of domestic violence in the country.

She says the 16 new cases may seem small at first glance, but the figure was recorded at just one center, meaning the actual number of incidents reported on Monday was likely much higher.

“We had sixteen new cases of violence against women, intimate partner violence, 16 is a lot just from the Suva area, that’s quite a lot, we already have a huge influx.”

Ali said the nature of violence being committed by perpetrators is also escalating, with life-threatening acts becoming alarmingly common.

“I mean violence against women in your homes is a form of torture but this is more torturous like actually cutting, burning and things like that, that we are seeing a difference in starting at the end of 2023 and this year we are seeing a little bit more of it.”

Women, Children and Social Protection Minister Lynda Tabuya said, in addition to physical violence, there was a troubling trend of women at risk also being targeted online, creating a double threat to their safety.

“We are seeing an increase in online violence, so children and women are facing a lot of online violence because it’s related to offline violence.”

Statistics reveal that two in every three women in Fiji face some form of intimate partner violence.

While Ali acknowledges that more women are now coming forward to report these incidents, she says that far more needs to be done.

She calls for greater resource allocation to effectively tackle the domestic violence crisis.