Culture Cannot Excuse Crime: Breaking Fiji’s Silence on Teenage Pregnancy and Abuse
Source: Fiji Sun. (2025, October 4). Chiefs condemn custom shielding rapists [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://fijisun.com.fj/news/nation/chiefs-condemn-custom-shielding-rapists A call to protect our daughters, restore dignity, and reclaim the true heart of Fijian culture. How did we reach a place where our daughters’ cries are silenced in the name of culture? Where teenage pregnancy is no longer shocking, but expected? Fiji’s rising teenage pregnancy crisis is not just a social issue it is a wound bleeding from the silence of families, the misuse of tradition, and the neglect of responsibility especially as parents and guardians . It is time to confront what we’ve long ignored because silence is complicity. In recent years, Fiji has been facing an alarming rise in teenage pregnancies a national crisis that health experts warn is rooted not just in poverty or neglect, but in silence, culture, and abuse. According to the Fiji Times (2025) , 21 of every 1,000...