Transcript
The Fiji Women's Crisis Centre says there were 295 cases of domestic violence reported between January and June this year.
It says eight women have lost their lives to domestic violence so far in 2019, the most recent - a 19-year-old allegedly killed by her 24-year-old partner last week.
The director of the Fiji Women's Rights Movement, Nalini Singh, says the statistics reflect a grim and horrific reality for Fijian women.
She says progressive legislation such as the Family Law Act and the Domestic Violence Act, have not stopped men from perpetrating violence against women.
"What now we need to see is what is this mentality that is, you know, driving men to commit such acts with brutality that it actually kills someone. This requires the type of planning and motive to, you know, really ensure that there's harm caused."
Nineteen percent of registered businesses in Fiji are owned by women.
The Director of Women at the Ministry of Women, Selai Korovusere, says more women would escape abusive relationships if they could sustain themselves financially.
"It's an opportunity for women to be able to walk out of violent situations where they remain with the perpetrators because they cannot support themselves. So as we empower women in this economic empowerment, they can make decisions for themselves."
Ms Korovusere says the economic empowerment of women is also an opportunity to move them out of poverty and improve their living standards.
She says all government agencies have a part to play.
"We're not only working within government institutions to strengthen their work around the issue of gender. We're also looking to strengthen government's work in having gender responsive budgets within government agencies."
Nalini Singh welcomes the government's economic empowerment plan for women, but she says a more wholistic approach is needed by all stakeholders to counter domestic violence.
"Economic empowerment is important but that needs to be coupled with a lot of other sensitization and training around well how do we act faster, when it comes to reporting against perpetrators who commit such crimes. It has to be more wholistic."
Ms Singh says a candlelight vigil was held on Monday to remember the women who have lost their lives to domestic violence this year.