The Australian Volunteers Program strives to provide a safe, supportive and equitable environment for LGBTQIA+ volunteers, approved accompanying dependents, partner organisations and all program staff. The Australian Volunteers Program has supported queer volunteers in all program countries and has ongoing connections with community organisations in many countries and regions in which the program operates.
This guide introduces a snapshot of the local context for queer and gender diverse people. LGBTQIA+ program participants must be aware of the country context before undertaking an assignment. If you are an LGBTQIA+ volunteer, you will need to:
- do your own research and understand what the local law says you can and can't do when in-country
- follow the local laws, even if you disagree with them
- be aware of the legal protections for LGBTQIA+ people in your destinations
- consider if you’re comfortable living and working in a place where you may not be able to live as openly as you can in some parts of Australia.
Language
Terminology may differ across urban and rural contexts, provinces or ethnic and cultural groups. Information sourced online can be outdated or inaccurate. For current and accurate information, please confirm with an appropriate civil society organisation (CSO) or ask your in-country team.
Legal and policy context
Fiji was the first country in the Pacific to have constitutional protections from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The HIV/AIDS Decree also passed in 2013 to prohibit discrimination based on gender orientation or sexual orientation. In 2018, Fiji became the first country in the Pacific to host a Pride parade and same-sex sexual acts were decriminalised in 2020.
However, same-sex marriage and civil unions are not recognised by the State and an exclusionary national legal framework persists, denying the equal rights and protections of queer communities.
Discrimination
National laws and constitutional protections exist for LGBTQIA+ people in Fiji. Discrimination based on a person’s personal characteristics, including gender and sexual orientation, is prohibited. It is also prohibited to discriminate based on sexual orientation in respect to recruitment, training, promotions, terms and conditions of employment and termination of employment. A person cannot be considered mentally ill on the basis that they express, refuse or fail to express a particular sexual preference or orientation.
Despite these advances, legislation does not provide protections against hate crimes directed at the queer community because of their identities and only provides limited protection against incitement to hatred.
Cultural and societal attitudes
Religion plays a significant role in the views and attitudes Fijians adopt toward LGBTQIA+ people. In some instances, the church is used as a platform to try to ‘convert’ or ‘cure’ people to align with ‘traditional’ heteronormative values. This can be distressing, as a gay man from a religious family reflects:
'My father is a pastor. I am spiritual, but don’t always go to church. Once a pastor raised the topic of gays and lesbians that they have to change. It’s really hard for us to hear that from someone up on the pulpit. I feel bad along with my friends sitting with me who are all gay. The church doesn’t have any respect for us.'
Many LGBTQIA+ Fijians feel they cannot challenge the violence perpetrated against them in public, fearing family, religious or workplace-related backlash. There have been cases of corrective rape committed by family members or community members, based on the assumption that it will change sexual preferences, especially for lesbians.
Diverse gender identities are generally more accepted in Fiji than diverse sexual orientations. Vakasalewalewa are a cultural third gender group in Fiji, who are assigned male at birth but may take on a feminine gender expression and roles that are traditionally taken on by cisgender women. This identity can challenge western ideas of sex and gender. The vakasalewalewa can be valued for their ability to carry out traditionally male and female tasks.
'Survival is sacred. Pride is power. We are Built from resistance & Rooted in our truth. I am not half of anything - I am whole as fa’afafine, as vakasalewalewa, as myself. I am vakaviti and queer-rooted, not erased.'
- Maivon Wahid, Human Rights Defender, Fiji Islands
Traditional understandings of the nuclear family and the binary gender roles cisgender women and cisgender men play are prevalent in Fiji. It is common for people who do not meet these heteronormative expectations to experience rejection. In one study, 42% of lesbian, bisexual and transgender women said they did not feel accepted by their nuclear family, and 50% said they were not accepted by their extended family.
Health and wellbeing
Fiji is responding to a fast-growing HIV outbreak. In 2024 alone, nearly 1,600 people contracted HIV - that’s four new cases every day. Young people, people who inject drugs, men who have sex with men, transgender people and sex workers are the hardest hit. People are late to present for diagnosis and may have co-infections with sexually transmitted infection (STIs) and Hepatitis B.
Fiji has a basic healthcare system provided by the state, however non-government organisations (NGOs) and CSOs also contribute as healthcare providers. Despite provisions by the Ministry of Health that every citizen has an equal right to access healthcare, stigma and discrimination can lead to LGBTQIA+ people not seeking healthcare services. Healthcare professionals who do not hold specific expertise may discriminate against LGBTQIA+ people.
Media
Fiji’s queer community is facing an increase in online bullying. In 2024, an LGBTQIA+ human rights defender committed suicide after experiencing hate speech and discrimination. Misinformation and fake profiles are used on Facebook to target the queer community.
The media has been criticised for neglecting and excluding LGBTQIA+ people from their reporting. When news stories about the queer community are published, the media does not often recognise their diverse identities.
'Pacific LGBTQI communities are now at the frontline of multiple crises and pandemics. Our struggles are high while resourcing are scarce. We are at a time we need to start re-imagining our approaches and priorities while ensuring our health security is centred within all our moving work. There is no work on a dead planet.'
- Maria Nailevu, Human Rights and Climate Activist, Fiji Islands
The Pride Guides were developed in 2022 and updated in 2025 by consultants and experts based in countries in which the program operates.
