Dr Josefa Koroivueta

One hundred and twenty-six cases of sexual abuse against children was recorded by Fiji’s Child Services in the last ten months.

This alarming statistic is a serious concern for the Ministry of Women and Children.

Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Josefa Koroivueta says they have turned their focus to the matter and are working on ways to combat the increasing issue.

Koroivueta says they’re looking at putting together qualified counselors to help children who are victims of abuse.

“We have Child Care Child counselors but what we have done is generate a new platform now to with all the stake holders. For counselors, we actually work with our NGOs, so we actually work with Empower Pacific, Medical Services in the Pacific, they have specialized counselors for which we depend upon”

Out of the 126 cases recorded, 102 were girls and 24 boys.

Meanwhile, a total of 696 child abuse cases were recorded by the Child Services between January to October this year.