Fiji

Demographics

Estimated Total Population:

889,953

World Bank, 2019

Estimated SGM Population:

N/A

N/A

Estimated Total SGM Adult Population:

N/A

N/A

Estimated % of SGM Adults (18+):

N/A

N/A

No nationally representative survey has been conducted in Fiji to provide an estimate of the sexual and gender minority population. Few reports, including post-disaster needs assessments published in the aftermath of Fiji’s 2016 Tropical Cyclone Winston, comprehensively analyze the impact of disasters on sexual and gender minorities. The absence of SGM inclusion in needs assessments fails to recognize the unique vulnerability this population faces pre-disaster, and further reinforces heteronormativity and cis-normativity in humanitarian aid activities (Dwyer & Woolf, 2018). Greater efforts to estimate the SGM population in Fiji, in both urban and rural areas, may enable better engagement with this population both during crisis, and in everyday social and political life.

Fiji's Laws and Policies from ILGA World Report (2019)

RECOGNITION
Marriage for Same-Sex Couples
No
Civil Unions
No
Joint Adoption
No
Second Parent Adoption
No
Gender Marker Change?
No
PROTECTION
Employment Nondiscrimination Laws
Yes
Broad Protections
Yes
Criminalization of Violence
No
Ban of Conversion Therapy
No
CRIMINALIZATION
Consensual Same-Sex Acts are Legal?
Yes
Gender
Does Not Apply
Max Penalty (Yrs in Prison)
Does Not Apply

Selected Published Studies, Reports, and Other Documents

Studies:

White, C. M. (2005). Fijian males at the crossroads of gender and ethnicity in a Fiji secondary school. Ethnology, 44(4), 313-. Gale Literature Resource Center.

Articles:

Being LGBT In Detention Facilities in Fiji. (2018, Oct17). Haus of Khameleon. Retrieved July 15, 2020, from http://www.hausofkhameleon.org/hk-blog/lgbtpersons-in-detention-fijicasestudy

George, N. (2008). Contending masculinities and the limits of tolerance: Sexual minorities in Fiji. The Contemporary Pacific, 20(1), 163-. Gale General OneFile. https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/14059/v20n1-163-189.pdf?sequence=1

Tamata, V. (2016). Campaign against Discrimination of the LGBT Community in Fiji. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.2334.1842

Reports:

Bavinton B, Singh N, NaikerDS, Deo MN, Talala M, Brown M, Singh RR, Dewan S, and Navokavokadrau S. (2011). Secret Lives, Other Voices: A community-based study exploring male-to-male sex, gender identity and HIV transmission risk in Fiji. Suva, Fiji: AIDS Task Force of Fiji.

Dwyer, E. & Woolf, L. (2018) Down By The River Addressing the Rights, Needs and Strengths of Fijian Sexual and Gender Minorities in Disaster Risk Reduction and Humanitarian Response. OXFAM RESEARCH REPORTS. 52. https://www.gdnonline.org/resources/Down-By-The-River_Web.pdf

McMillan K., and H. Worth (2010) Risky Business: Sex work and HIV prevention in Fiji. International HIV Research Group, UNSW, Sydney. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/64b7/6a7c5ba8ffdd5b35ba9cc8a8aefebc534657.pdf