[Source: DVAC]

The Fiji Women Crisis Center has noted a reduction in the number of domestic violence cases during the festive period.

Coordinator Shamima Ali highlights this and says this may have been due to the inability to report the abuse and they are expecting reports numbers to rise in the coming weeks.

Ali says the domestic violence cases is usually high during the holidays especially in the month of December and January.

Out of the 76 cases reported to FWCC in December last year, 46 were domestic violence cases.

“So we are expecting a climb in mid January because that is what usually the trend is now the kids are gonna go to school everyone is going back to work so that is when the needs arise and women will come and report.”

FWCC Counsellor Supervisior Ilisapeci Veibuli says they have received close to 80 domestic violence cases.

{insert 020124 nk veibuli: from Christmas time till the 1st of January we have received about 73 survivors these are survivors of domestic violence many of these women have gone through physical, verbal and emotional, sexual violence, coercive and financial abuse which is something we have seen from that period}

FWCC is calling on stakeholders to assist them in the fight to end gender based violence in the country this year.