A Note on Recent Trends in Suicide in Fiji

The only source of national data is the statistics unit of Fiji’s police force who record all deaths that were not caused by disease, along with such data as the gender & ethnicity of the deceased. They are willing to provide information on suicide within the constraints of having the staff & resources needed to […]

Attempted Suicide in Western Viti Levu, Fiji

The case records of 132 people in Lautoka, Fiji referred to counselling services (January 2004-December 2005) following a suicide attempt were reviewed. 75% of the study group were under age 32, 90% were Indo-Fijian, & 66% were females. Findings show social stress was the primary reason for attempted suicide among all ages, genders, religions, & […]

Gender, Power, and Social Change: Youth Suicide Among Fiji Indians and Western Samoans

Working Paper #5

Spousal Homicides in Fiji

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Uxoricide in Fiji: the Socioeconomic Context of Husband-Wife Killings

Militarism and Moral Decay in Fiji

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Pacific Island Suicide in Comparative Perspective

Homicide-Suicides in Fiji: Offense Patterns, Situational Factors, and Sociocultural Contexts

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When Parents Kill: an Analysis of Filicides in Fiji

This study examines offense patterns & victim & offender characteristics in filicides in Fiji. The findings indicate that filicidal parents were overwhelmingly female, young, & of low socioeconomic background. Filicide offenses were the culmination of excessive corporal child-control strategies, unwanted pregnancy, & stresses & strains associated with severe marital disharmony. Posthomicidal suicide attempts occurred in […]

The Determinants of Attempted Suicide in a General Hospital Setting in Fiji Islands: a Gender-Specific Study

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Suicide in Fiji: a Review of the Literature

Indications that the Indian community have been overrepresented in suicide statistics in Fiji were investigated. A computerised Medline search of the literature back to 1966 on suicide & ethnicity in Fiji using the search words SUICIDE & FIJI was performed & supplemented by other relevant research & published material. A consistent pattern of higher suicide […]

Patterns of Suicide: Factors Affecting Age-Sex Distributions of Suicide in Western Samoa and Fiji Indians (Working Papers in Demography No. 77)

Excess female suicide over male is reported for very few populations. Two exceptions, as far as youth suicide is concerned, are Western Samoa & the Indian population of Fiji. This paper examines age-sex patterns of suicide in these two populations & seeks to explain why female youth suicide exceeds that of males. Female suicide is […]

Veil of Dishonour: Sexual Jealousy and Suicide on Fiji Plantations

An extensive study of suicide among indentured Indian immigrants on Fijian plantations between 1884-1925 revealed that during that period over 300 committed suicide: the majority of the suicides were males. The primary reason given was the lack of females & the effect was sufficient to change immigration policies in the 1890’s. The indenture system itself […]

Suicide in Fiji: A Preliminary Study

A survey of police & medical records in a province of Fiji indicated high rates of suicide for Indian women under 30 & for Indian men over 30, especially amongst families engaged in sugar-cane farming. Indian suicide rates were high during the indenture period(1879-1920), & are still higher amongst Indians than native Fijians: almost 90% […]