More than half of the victims of rape and sexual offense cases filed in the Fiji High Court last month were related to their attackers including three teenage boys and five fathers.
The teenage boys aged under 18 are suspected of raping their cousin brothers aged between 8 and 9 in three separate incidents, while the older men between the ages of 39 and 58 were charged with the rape of their daughters aged between seven and 24 years, according to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
They were among 29 people whose cases were called in a high court of Fiji in July including two male police officers – a 52-year-old charged over the rape and sexual assault of two women aged 29 and 32 years – and a 20-year-old for the sexual assault of a fellow officer 22 years of age.
Another teenager aged 14 years also had his time in court, for the rape of a nine-year-old girl.
Seven other cases heard in court last month include one of a 32-year-old man charged with the rape and sexual assault of his 6-year-old niece, a 41-year-old man facing rape, attempted rape and sexual assault charges involving his 19-year-old nephew. There was also a 31-year-old man facing charges over the rape and sexual assault of his 8-year-old niece, a 42-year-old man over the rape and sexual assault of his 12-year-old niece, a 30-year-old man charged with the rape and sexual assault of his 16-year-old niece, and a 42-year-old man charged with assault with intent to commit rape of his 17-year-old niece. There was one incident of marital rape where a 39-year-old man was charged with the rape of his 32- year-old wife.
A 43-year-old man was charged with the sexual assault of his 41-year-old sister-in-law. There was one incident where a 48-year-old man was charged with the rape and sexual assault of a 4- year-old girl while in another incident, a 48-year-old man was charged with two counts of rape of a 23- year-old woman from his village. There was one incident where a 37-year-old man was charged with two counts of defilement of a 16- year-old girl.
