‘Marriages under siege’ as divorce cases rise

Divorce cases in Fiji have surged dramatically since the COVID-19 pandemic, with statistics showing 9700 cases were filed between 2020 and mid-2024.

Human rights lawyer Romulo Nayacalevu said court statistics indicated a sharp shift in marital breakdown trends, with divorce applications jumping upward trend from just 240 cases in 2019 - the lowest recorded in recent years to more than 2000 in 2020.

The upward trend continued in the following years, with more 1700 cases in 2021 and more than 2000 in 2022.

In total, more than 9700 divorce cases were filed nationwide between 2020 and mid-2024, compared to just over 4000 cases recorded in the seven-year period from 2013 to 2019.

Mr Nayacalevu said court filings increasing by more than 700 per cent in a single year and nearly doubling overall compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Why the increase

“The numbers are telling us that marriages are in trouble,” Mr Nayacalevu said, pointing to pandemic-related stress, economic hardship, and rising family conflict during lockdowns as likely contributing factors.

He said the spike also coincided with changes in Fiji’s legal framework under the Family Law Act 2013, which simplified the divorce process by removing the need to prove fault such as adultery or cruelty.

Couples now only need to demonstrate that a marriage has “irretrievably broken down” and that they have been separated for at least one year.

While divorce filings were relatively stable before COVID-19 averaging between 500 and 600 cases annually, the pandemic years marked a turning point not only in volume but also in gender trends.

Mr Nayacalevu said more women than men filed for divorce during the COVID period, reversing earlier patterns where men were more likely to initiate proceedings.

He cautioned that while statistics highlight the scale of the issue, they do not fully explain the underlying causes.

He said factors such as financial pressure, domestic violence, and prolonged separation, including through overseas seasonal work may be contributing to the growing number of marital breakdowns.

Mr Nayacalevu is calling for stronger support systems, including counselling services through churches, communities, and civil society, to help couples navigate challenges before they reach the courts.

Breakdown

Head of the Catholic Church Archbishop Peter Loy Chong said the breakdown in families was because the influence of social media where couples and families no longer spent time with each other.

“We need to bring back values within homes where family time can be strengthened. That is the only way to go for families to unite, with the rise in domestic abuse in the country,” Archbishop Chong said.

Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) coordinator Shamima Ali says domestic violence remains one of the leading causes of relationship breakdowns in Fiji.

“A lot of the cases that we see are domestic violence cases… we don’t see too many people divorcing. They’re separating… they want their violence to stop,” she said.

“The main reason this country, over the years, has been domestic violence… and at that time, two main causes were domestic violence and adultery.” Ms Ali also raised concerns about how quickly some people enter marriage without adequate understanding or preparation for long-term commitment.

“People very easily jump into marriage. Marriage is a huge undertaking… and they think it’s wrong, and divorce is the only option,” she said.

She further highlighted the need for structured counselling services for couples in Fiji, particularly before and after marriage, saying existing services are limited and often insufficient.