SUVA, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Fijian police officers will access counselling services in an effort to assist in improving service delivery around Fiji.
According to Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC), Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu said Wednesday that counselling was needed as disciplinary issues and work pressure has at times hampered the performance of Fijian police officers.
In order to deal with these issues, the Fiji Police Force and Medical Service Pacific (MSP) will work together to provide counselling services to police officers, he said, adding that this partnership will also assist police officers who are dealing with victims of gender-based violence, child abuse and sexual crimes.
Tudravu said there have been complaints in the past that these victims do not receive proper treatment from police officers.
The MSP is committed to rights-based and voluntary family planning and works to ensure Pacific women and adolescents have access to quality and professional health services, particularly reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The MSP works to raise the status of women and seeks to end Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and provides clinical services to respond to sexual assault.
According to Fiji's Child Welfare Act national database, Fiji reported a total of 122 child abuse cases in February, 97 cases in March and 90 cases in April.
Shairana Ali, chief executive of Fiji's Save the Children, said the rise in the number of child abuse cases in Fiji is triggering concern in the community level.
In recent years, child abuse cases have sky-rocketed in the island nation. More than 1,300 cases of child abuse were reported last year, a 22-percent increase compared to 838 cases recorded in 2018, also the highest reported since 2016. Enditem
