Attitudes of Victim-Blame Toward Image-Based Sexual Abuse Victim-Survivors in Fiji: Understanding Gendered and Cultural Norms

Victim-blaming and entrenched gender norms are a persistent barrier to justice and support pathways for victim-survivors of sexual and domestic violence in Fiji. While these issues have been considered in relation to physical forms of abuse, there remains limited understanding of how these attitudes may impact victim-survivors of technology-facilitated sexual violence, particularly image-based sexual abuse-the non-consensual creation, capture, distribution, or threatened distribution of nude or sexual imagery. This article examined these dynamics drawing on a reflexive thematic analysis of focus groups run with 30 young people aged 18-24 years across the Fijian cities of Suva, Labasa, and Lautoka. The focus groups explored young people's attitudes toward image-based sexual abuse victimization, including using the illustrative case study of former Fijian Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection, Lynda Tabuya, who had a private sexual video of her disseminated online without her consent and was subsequently dismissed from her Ministerial position. Our paper explores how cultural, religious, and moral frameworks shape perceptions of victimhood, purity, and blame among young Fijians. Our findings reveal that patriarchal and moralistic narratives contributed to a hostile environment for image-based sexual abuse victim-survivors, where they are often silenced and held responsible for their abuse, while perpetrators evade accountability. This research contributes to the growing literature on gender-based violence in Fiji and underscores the need for culturally grounded education and awareness initiatives that challenge victim-blaming and patriarchal narratives to support justice for victim-survivors, such as targeted youth workshops on consent and digital harms, run in partnership with faith-based organizations and community leaders.