Women's rights groups in Fiji are calling for more to be done to combat sexual violence after Cyclone Winston.
They said Fiji had very high rates of gender-based and sexual violence, and the aftermath of natural disaster adds to the vulnerability of women and children.
This was highlighted by the recent rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in Pacific Harbour.
The newly appointed director for the Fiji Human Rights Commission, Ashwin Raj. Photo: RNZ / Republika
The newly appointed director for the Fiji Human Rights Commission, Ashwin Raj, said the country must put an end to such abuse.
"And to do that, we have to work together. We have to constructively engage all the institutions that work in this area; the state, the civil society, the international community... and I think that it's not possible to do this in isolation."
Ashwin Raj said once he starts at the Fiji HRC in the coming week, he will be able to focus on the challenge of changing Fiji's culture of sexual and gender based violence.