Children are abandoned and forgotten when a large number of Fijians leaving our shores for work start new relationships abroad.
Consultant Marica Tabualevu said this while calling for measures that would hold people responsible or accountable in such situations.
She said adults who engaged in such behaviour forgot they had children “left behind with no income or very little parental support” just because they did not want their partner anymore.
Ms Tabualevu made these comments while speaking at a public consultation in Suva last Friday on the draft of the Child Care and Protection Bill and Child Justice Bill 2023.
Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre’s senior counsellor advocate and community educator Ilisapeci Veibuli also called on Government to ensure there was sufficient budget to support the legislation as implementation and enforcement were important.
Meanwhile, in a separate event, NGO Empower Pacific said last year more than 1040 children were counselled, where the bulk of them suffered from depression.
