Domestic violence is the wilful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and other abusive behaviour as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another.

Fiji Women’s Crisis Center Coordinator Shamima Ali says there are far more domestic violence cases in rural areas when compared to urban centers.

“Well our survey shows that rural women are more prone to domestic violence, the prevalence rates are higher in the rural areas and that is quite is natural because of services and so on. When we come to the urban areas and look at the cross-section, actually no woman is exempt.”

There have been 277 domestic violence cases reported to the crisis centre for this year alone.