Fighting the battle against rape

A school teacher repeatedly rapes a 10-year-old girl and is sentenced to 18 months jail. A man rapes a young girl, gets a fine, a suspended sentence and is sent to another area to live. It’s these kinds of “atrocious” sentences for rape which are the target of an anti-rape campaign mounted by the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement.

The movement was founded in 1986 after a public meeting called by its sister

organisation, the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre, and the YWCA. The anti-rape campaign is into its second year. Co ordinator Peni Moore says the trigger was the decision in the early 1990 by the Chief Jus tice, Sir Timoci Tuivaga, to overturn his earlier sentencing guidelines for rape.

“About 18 months ago, he’d set down five years for rape and it made quite a difference to the sentences,’’says Moore. But under the latest guidelines, there’s no longer a need for

custodial sentence for rape. Moore says this has produced a “drastic change”, with many more suspended sentences.

The rights movement is also disturbed by the recent trend for judges to accept in mitigation for rape sentences use of alcohol and so-called “traditional rec onciliation”. Moore says bulubulu, or traditional reconciliation was never used for serious matters such as elopments.

“Now the rapist goes to the girl’s father, apologies and gives a tabua,” says Moore. “Then he goes and tells the court

they’re reconciled.”

So the anti-rape campaign mounted a telegram campaign to the Chief Justice.

Moore says he’s agreed to change his sentencing guidelines but wants to know what other measures the women want introduced.

Moore says they’ve drawn up a list which includes eight legislative changes such as need for the corroboration by rape victims, closed courts, no bail for rapists and so on. They also want the Chief Justice to direct that all rape cases be heard in the High Court rather than the Magistrates Court at present.

“That means the maximum penalties can go higher than five years.’’says Moore. “There will also be fairer trials with closed courts and so on.”

The rights movement is also asking for compulsory counselling for rapists in jail and a ruling against accepting alcohol or

“traditional reconciliation” in miti

gation.

Moore says the Chief Justice is being quite helpful and believes there’s an 80 percent chance of getting the changes made. But the rights movement is in a Catch 22 over legislative changes, says Moore, because it disagrees with the new constitution and refuses to work with a non-elected government, “We’ve had to change our tactics,”

says Moore. “We’ve gone from a really strong campaign for law

changes to educating

the public. If we can get social change we can do the law changes outside the law.”

The rights movement is a collective of more than 100 women, en compassing all races and educational back grounds. They have an office and three workers.

Moore says most of their work is educational, speaking to women’s groups, schools, holding

workshops and doing

radio programmes.

“When we first started, we were quite a different group,” she says. “We were seen as a bit upmarket, a luxury reserved for the more educated women. Now we’re more and more grassroots.” Moore says most of the movement’s work is focussed around Suva, where there is more than enough to keep them busy.

The crisis centre runs a 24-hour hot line and will travel to outlying areas to help if needed.

“What we’re starting to discover,” says Moore, “is that the majority of women have never experienced sex as it should be. They think ‘acquaintance rape’ is how it should be.” When speakers talk of violent sex, often their female listeners say, “that’s what hap pens to me everyday.”

Moore says the Fiji police are “horren dous” to women who’ve been raped, often telling them they must have been asking for it. The rights movement is also regarded as pack of troublemakers by the

Fiji Government, says Moore, especially

as some members are active in the political opposition.

Their main ally is the Director of Public Prosecutions. “He’s a trustee of the movement and is very supportive,” says Moore. “The DPP’s office realises we’re doing some of their work for them, as a watchdog.” □

Peni Moore