Praneeta Prakash 
[File Photo]
The age of the youngest rape victim or survivor continues to be under five years old.
This is based on an analysis conducted by the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement on sexual violence against women and girls between 2016 and 2022.
According to FWRM, 108 rape cases were decided in the High Court last year alone, in which the youngest victim was two years old.
Executive Director Nalini Singh says in the last six years, more than fifty percent of rape victims have been under the age of 18.
Except for 2017, for all the other years, 50% of victim-survivors have been under the age of 18, which we classify as children, and last year alone, 80% of the victim-survivors were under the age of 18. The average age of perpetrators is also an important statistic, and that’s between 34 and 39. In the last three years, 65 percent of the victim-survivors knew the perpetrator
She adds immediate action is needed to address these challenges.
“Many more women are calling in and finding avenues for response from formal justice sector but we think its high time that the formal justice sector especially the judiciary looks at setting up special courts for women and children because sometimes when we map back the time it takes for cases to be heard and judgement to be processed, it’s taken too long “
She hopes that the recently launched National Action Plan will assist in tackling these worrying challenges.
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