Report launched to identify barriers women face in accessing the formal justice system

The "Balancing the Scales" report which was launched by the Fiji Women's Rights Movement today aims to identify barriers that women face in accessing the formal justice system in Fiji.

While delivering his keynote address at the report launch, Chief Justice Anthony Gates says the court data presented in this report shows that women are the majority of applicants in 9 out of 10 maintenance cases and 7 out of 10 restraining order cases filed in the Family Court.

Chief Justice Gates says the report shows the Fiji Courts’ commitment to transparency and accountability with the publication of more than 1000 court judgements on Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute.

He says while the report highlights the fact that the Fiji judiciary currently does not publish any family law cases in the Pacific Islands Legal Information Institute, it is hoped that protocols can be developed to enable future family law judgements to be published.

The Fiji Women’s Rights Movement Executive Director Nalini Singh says while the government has adopted progressive laws and policies over the last 15 years, there is still much to be accomplished to ensure women and girls are protected from violence.

Singh says the research report is a step forward to determine the barriers that still exist for women in Fiji.

She says the FWRM has analysed data from formal justice sector institutions and hopes that findings and recommendations from this report will lobby policy makers in improving women’s access to the formal justice system.

Singh adds that they presented data from the Fiji Police Force, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Fiji Judiciary and the Legal Aid Commission showing trends over the last 5 to 10 years.

Chair of FWRM Makereta Waqavonovono says that Fiji was a pioneer in the Pacific in the area of Family Law reform and instrumental in the drafting of the Family Law Act in 2003, however 12 years post the introduction of the Act there were areas that needed improvement.

Waqavonovono says while more than 6,000 women initiated family law or domestic violence restraining order applications in the Fiji Courts in 2016, only 1 in 3 of these women were represented by the Legal Aid Commission leaving at least 4,000 to navigate the system without proper legal representation.

She says that the report shows that there is lack of transparent and accessible court fee waiver process in the Family Law and civil matters.