Fiji

Fiji has made progress on LGBTIQ equality in the last decade. However, LGBTIQ people still face barriers to full equality. Same-sex relations were decriminalized in 2010, and Fiji is one of the few countries in the world to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in its constitution. The protection based on sexual orientation was first enshrined in the 1997 Constitution of Fiji, making the country one of the first in the world to do so, alongside South Africa. The current 2013 constitution reinstated and expanded these protections to cover gender expression and identity. 

Fiji also enacted legal protections from discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace in 2007 and prohibits health professionals from attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation. Fiji has a traditional third-gender population known as vaka sa lewa lewa, who present themselves and/or identify as women, but there is no procedure for legal gender recognition in the country. 

Fiji does not legally recognize same-sex marriage or civil unions. The Marriage Act, amended in 2002, expressly defines marriage as the voluntary union of one man and one woman.

The bodily autonomy of intersex people is not legally protected in Fiji. The status of intersex infant surgery in Fiji is unknown, meaning there is no confirmed ban on nonconsensual, medically unnecessary surgeries performed on intersex children, and no specific legal framework protecting intersex people from such interventions.

There have been several notable cases of anti-LGBTIQ violence. In April 2024, a 19-year-old trans woman, Esther Ravuto, died several weeks after experiencing a violent assault. Three months later, in July 2024, the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission in the country filed a complaint before both the Fiji Police Force and the Online Safety Commission, calling for investigations following the death by suicide of a queer individual who faced online gender-based violence. In September 2025, the death of Dr. Leighley Leli Darling, a trans woman who was a medical doctor and popular social media influencer, sparked a national discussion on transphobia in Fiji. A 32-year-old man was charged with her alleged murder after she was found with multiple injuries at her home near Nadi, with the matter transferred to the Lautoka High Court. Her death sparked widespread fear and insecurity among sexual and gender minorities in Fiji. 

In early 2026, the government instituted a new Constitutional Review Commission to recommend amendments to Fiji’s constitution. Activists expressed concern to Outright that conservative forces in the current government could jeopardize existing constitutional protections. The deputy prime minister previously described same-sex marriage as an “abomination.”