The Samoa Victim Support Group's newly launched Human Rights Watch division expressed serious concern over the rising number and severity of violations against children’s rights in Samoa.

SVSG has recently provided shelter and support for multiple young victims of abuse at its Campus of Hope facility, highlighting a distressing trend of abuse occurring within the home, often at the hands of family members.

Two young girls, aged eight and nine years, are now under SVSG’s care after suffering sexual abuse by relatives. These acts are a direct violation of Article 6 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which guarantees every child’s right to life, survival, and protection from harm. Samoa ratified the CRC in 1994.

A separate case involves a 14-year-old girl who fled her home to escape abuse from her father. She is now under the protection of SVSG. This case underscores the failure to uphold parental responsibilities as outlined in multiple articles of the CRC, including the obligation to provide a safe, nurturing environment for children.

The most tragic of the recent cases involved a 13-year-old girl with a disability who was sexually abused and murdered by a relative. This case violates not only the CRC but also the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), ratified by Samoa in 2016. Both conventions emphasise the right of every child, including those with disabilities, to live free from violence and discrimination.

"These incidents reflect a wider systemic issue of child protection failures in Samoa,” said SVSG president Siliniu Lina Chang.

"As SVSG celebrates its 20th anniversary, it is disheartening to experience the recent violations of children's rights in Samoa. SVSG, as a human rights defender and advocate, breaks the silence through its newly established human rights watch.

"SVSG calls on all stakeholders’ government, communities, and families — to take urgent action to protect the rights of Samoa’s children and ensure the international conventions ratified by the nation are upheld in practice."

SVSG has called for stronger protection and awareness of children’s rights, emphasising that these rights are fundamental and must be upheld for every child across the country. According to SVSG, children’s rights include the right to life, access to adequate food, education, and healthcare, as well as the right to live in a safe and nurturing environment. Equally important is the right of children to express their opinions and have their voices heard, especially by their parents and caregivers.

“These rights are universal and apply to all individuals from birth up to the age of 18,” SVSG stated. “They are not privileges — they are entitlements protected under international human rights law, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which Samoa ratified in 1994.

“We must work together — families, communities, and the government — to create a society where every child can grow up free from harm, heard, and fully supported."