Medical Services Pacific Country Director Ashna Shaleen says the majority of these are sexual crimes with some cases being reported for the first time.

Up to eight cases are seen daily by Post Rape Clinics in Suva and Labasa.

Medical Services Pacific Country Director Ashna Shaleen says the majority of these are sexual crimes with some cases being reported for the first time.

Shaleen says the number of cases they have been receiving since the setup of the first clinic is alarming.

It’s an epidemic if I may say, the numbers are quite staggering. At the moment the Suva clinic is on a 24-7 mode so on average we are seeing about 6-8 clients a day.”

She says the clinic offers counselling for victims and assists them to recover from a heinous crime that is gripping Fiji like an addiction.

“The youngest that got referred to us by the Fiji Police Force was a 3-month-old baby in the midst of COVID during March and I believe she is the youngest victim but we’ve had from youngest as 3 months to the oldest being 74-year-olds – a woman and a man so it’s really everything in between.”

Medical Services Pacific also believes with the new facility in Lautoka, a lot of unreported cases will be uncovered as victims will find the clinic a safe haven.

The project is funded by the European Union.