Global Progress Towards Ending the Sexual Exploitation of Children
A global problem requires truly global solutions to address the sexual exploitation of children.
Indicators
Age of Consent
Partial
Age of sexual consent is 16 years. The national legislation does not provide for a close-in-age exemption. However, if the person charged for the "act of indecency" status was of a similar age to the child and consent was given in the context of a continuing friendship between the two, there will be no sanction.
ECO Fiji, 2019
Extraterritoriality & Extradition
Partial
Subsidiary active extraterritoriality is provided for SEC-related crimes committed by Fijian citizens, residents, and corporations, whenever those crimes are not punished by the country where they were committed. Passive extraterritoriality is not contemplated.
Extradition requires a minimum gravity of one year of imprisonment as well as double criminality.
ECO Fiji, Jun-19
CSAM Definition
No
The national legislation does not provide a definition of CSAM which is in line with international standards.
ECO Fiji, 2019
Background Check Required
Not Yet Assessed
National Commitments
Partial
Fiji has ratified the CRC, the OPSC, the Trafficking Protocol and the ILO Convention No. 182.
Fiji has not ratified the OPIC, the UNWTO Framework Convention on Tourism Ethics and the Council of Europe's Lanzarote and Budapest Conventions.
ECO Fiji, 2019
Child Advocacy Centers
Not Yet Assessed
SEC Police Unit
Partial
The main police unit including SEC in its mandate is the Human Trafficking Unit. However, the police anti-trafficking unit lacks dedicated and sufficient resources to conduct effective trafficking.
The Fiji Police Force is also mandated to collaborate with the Australian Federal Police to prevent SEC crimes committed by Australian nationals, which comprise the largest group of tourist visiting the island country.
ECO Fiji, 2019
Protection Standards Travel and Tourism
Not Yet Assessed
Public SEC Case Data
No
Data on SEC cases is not publicly available.
ECO Fiji, 2019
Age of Consent Law is Appropriate
The age of sexual consent for both males and females is 18 and a close in age exemption (up to 3 years) is provided for consensual sexual relationships between adolescents.
The age of sexual consent is the legally defined age at which a person is considered mature enough to agree to sexual activity. The age of sexual consent varies across jurisdictions around the world and there is no international legal instrument establishing it, however various forms of advocacy have encouraged States to establish a minimum age under which engaging in sexual contact is considered a criminal offence. This is intended to prevent sexual contact with children and to prevent argument that the child consented as a defence.
Often national provisions related to the age of sexual consent include an exception, known as a close-in-age exemption, making consensual sexual activities between young people lawful if the partners are of similar ages and the age difference is not higher than a certain number of years.
To ensure that cases of child sexual exploitation do not go unpunished, ECPAT advocates for the age of sexual consent to be set at 18 for both males and females with a close-in-age exemption of 2-3 years provided in order to ensure young people are not penalised for consensual sexual acts with peers. The age from which the exemption applies should be established by States but may begin for young people somewhere between 12 and 16 years of age.
Yes The national legislation explicitly indicates that the age of sexual consent unequivocally is 18 for both males and females, with a close-in-age exemption for sexual acts between peers (of up to 3 years) is provided by law.