femLINKpacifc’s network members of diverse rural women have outlined the high levels of negative issues revolving around their personal security in Fiji’s second city Lautoka, which was the first location to be “locked-down” in COVID-19 health restrictions.
Across the Western Division network, members of the Rural Women Leaders Community Media Network (RWLCMN) also reported food security as their top priority.
Members from the LGBT Community outlined the stigma and discrimination that they faced.
“I think for me and my community the only thing we can do right now is look out for each other,” said Bonita Qio of the Pacific Rainbows Advocacy Network (PRAN).
Qio said the announcement of the first COVID-19 case in Fiji had affected members of the LGBT community:
“We’ve been called names, we were told that we were the people that had brought the sickness into Fiji and this mentally it wasn’t really helping, it really affected us mentally,” she said.
Qio added their personal security had been threatened in the initial stages of the lockdown.
“It threatened our security going to shops, going to places, walking on the street we would be called names, people would be teasing us and I’m surprised with the way the members of the community coped with this kind of attitude from the public.”
On top of the mental stress it had caused, Qio said the pandemic had also affected the sex worker industry.
She said that sex workers’ community here in the west had faced difficulty in terms operation and with curfews in place, they had been forced to operate in the day.
“The streets were getting crowded with us standing by in the daytime and the police were arresting us because it was also seen as a social gathering, she said.
“Within the first week, a few of our single mothers were taken and it was really hard because while they were in the custody of the police they were worried about their children at home, what would they eat and their families,” Qio shared.
Litia Masei of the Paipai Women’s Group, said that most families had been severely affected by job losses in tourism industry.
“Because of this COVID-19, most of the families have been affected specially the breadwinner working in the hotel industry coming back home now, staying home and they’re trying all their best to do backyard gardening but how long will that take?”
The objective of ensuring that they put food on the table, and prioritising food securty has emerged due to job losses from the tourism industry of which the western division hosts the tourism belt.
“The people they struggle each day to put food on the table. Even they cut down the meals in their family, instead of having three meals a day so they cut it down to two meals,” said Mate Moce of the Teidamu Women’s Group.
Masei said on top of losing income and their farms during TC Harold, many also had to manage childcare with schools having closed since mid-March.
She added that while families remained optimistic, the government needed to do more to ensure rural communities were not left behind during its response to COVID-19.