Shamima Ali

The Fiji Women Crisis Centre has been receiving several calls on its men’s referral line with some experiencing trauma caused by COVID-19 related job losses.

Centre Coordinator Shamima Ali says trauma at times is also associated with aggression and violent behaviors.

Ali says the inability of men to provide for their families under these circumstances affect their sense of masculinity and can sometimes manifest into violence.

“They haven’t learnt to talk through things within their families. They bottle it up and often their frustration comes out in the form of violence and ill-treatment of the people in the house.”

Ali says people need to understand that this is happening globally and they need to discuss it openly to relieve their stress and anxiety.