Women
Rape and Domestic Violence: Rape of women is punishable by a maximum of 15 years in prison. “Indecent assault” of men is punishable by a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment. The law recognizes spousal rape. Domestic violence is a crime punishable by a maximum of 12 months in prison, a substantial fine, or both. Repeat offenders face a maximum penalty of three years in prison or a steeper maximum fine. The law provides for protection from domestic violence, including by issuance of protection orders; clarifies the duties of police; and promotes the health, safety, and well-being of domestic-violence victims.
In April Ofa Guttenbeil-Likili, director of the Women and Children Crisis Center, reported that after the massive volcanic eruption and 50-foot tsunami on January 15 and the 26-day lockdown that followed, the number of domestic- and family-violence cases handled by the center approximately doubled. The deputy police commissioner reportedly observed that while the incidence of other crimes had diminished, domestic violence was on the rise.
Police investigated reported rape cases, and the government prosecuted these cases. In two cases prosecuted in May, a policeman was sentenced to seven years in prison for raping a woman, age 18, while she was in custody, and another man was sentenced to five years in prison for the attempted rape of a woman, age 20, in 2021.
The government also provided financial support to nongovernmental organizations (NGO) that assist survivors of sexual violence. The police domestic-violence unit has a “no-drop” policy for complaints of domestic assault; once filed, domestic-violence cases cannot be withdrawn and must proceed to prosecution in the magistrates’ courts. The Ministry of Police, local communities, churches, youth groups, the Women and Children Crisis Center, and other NGOs conducted training programs for government agencies and civil society groups on matters such as human rights, child abuse, sexual harassment, violence against women, and domestic violence.
Police worked with the National Center for Women and Children and with the Women and Children Crisis Center to provide shelter for abused women and for girls and boys younger than age 14. The Justice Department’s Family Legal Protection Aid Center operated an online portal to provide anonymous access for survivors of domestic or gender-based violence to legal information and counsel, without compromising the confidentiality of their cases. Some young girls were compelled by parental pressure to marry men who raped them to prevent family shame.
Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment is not a crime under the law, but physical sexual assault can be prosecuted as indecent assault. Complaints received by the police domestic violence unit indicated that sexual harassment of women was a common problem.
Reproductive Rights: There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization on the part of government authorities.
There were no legal or social barriers to accessing contraception, but some religious beliefs and cultural barriers, including the stigma attached to certain health topics, caused reluctance among women to visit clinics offering modern methods. The Guttmacher Institute, an international NGO, reported that in 2019, among women ages 15 to 49 who wanted to avoid a pregnancy, 49 percent had an unmet need for such methods. No government policies or legal, social, or cultural barriers adversely affected access to skilled attendance during pregnancy and childbirth. According to a 2019 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey carried out by the government and supported by UNICEF, approximately 16 percent of women who reported menstruating in the previous 12 months also reported they did not participate in social activities, school, or work while menstruating. The government provided access to health care, including emergency contraception, to survivors of sexual violence or incest who sought it within five days of the crime.
Discrimination: Inheritance laws, especially those concerned with land, discriminate against women. Women may lease land, but inheritance rights pass through male heirs only; a male child born out of wedlock has precedence over the deceased’s widow or daughter. If there are no male relatives, a widow is entitled to remain on her husband’s land if she does not remarry and remains celibate. The inheritance and land rights laws also reduced women’s ability to access credit and to own and operate businesses.
Discrimination against women with respect to employment and wages occurred (see section 7.d.).
Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination
The law restricts ownership and operation of retail food stores to citizens. Ethnic Chinese who are naturalized Tongan citizens dominated the retail sector in many towns. There were reports in recent years of crime and societal discrimination directed at members of the Chinese minority.
Children
Birth Registration: Individuals acquire citizenship at birth automatically if at least one parent is a citizen. Birth in the country per se does not confer citizenship.
Education: Education to age 18 is compulsory but not, by law, free. There is a policy, however, that provides free education to all children between ages six and 14.
Child Abuse: There are laws against child abuse. If a case is reported to police, the child is removed from the parents or guardians and placed in the care of either the Women and Children Crisis Center or the National Center for Women and Children while police investigate. The Women and Children Crisis Center continued to implement a variety of child-abuse awareness programs at schools from primary to tertiary levels.
Child, Early, and Forced Marriage: The legal minimum age for marriage is 15 but boys and girls ages 15-17 require parental consent to marry. According to international civil society network Girls Not Brides, 6 percent of boys and 6 percent of girls marry before age 18. According to Girls Not Brides and other NGOs, child marriages were a result of several factors driven by gender inequality. Some young girls were compelled by parental pressure to marry men who raped them to prevent family shame. Teenage pregnancy forced others to marry to preserve family honor.
Sexual Exploitation of Children: The minimum age for consensual sex is 15. Perpetrators who sexually abuse children may be charged with “carnal knowledge of a child under age 12,” which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, or “carnal knowledge of a child under 15,” which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. In August a man, age 62, was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for six counts of “indecent assault” of a child, age 12. There were anecdotal reports of children being exploited in sex trafficking. The law prohibits the procurement of women and girls younger than age 21 for commercial sexual exploitation but does not criminalize the procurement of boys for the same purpose. The law also prohibits child pornography with penalties of a substantial fine or a maximum of 10 years in prison for individuals and a steeper maximum fine for corporations; however, the use of children younger than age 14 in the production of pornography is not criminally prohibited. Authorities enforced the laws against procurement of children for commercial sexual exploitation and child pornography.
Antisemitism
There was no known resident Jewish community and there were no known reports of antisemitic acts.
Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or Sex Characteristics
Criminalization: “Sodomy” (anal sex) between men is listed as a crime with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and whipping, but there were no reports of prosecutions under this provision for consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults.
Violence against LGBTQI+ Persons: Social stigma or intimidation may have prevented reporting of incidents of violence or discrimination.
Discrimination: No law specifically prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics, or recognizes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) individuals, couples, and their families. No law addresses hate crimes. No criminal justice mechanisms exist to aid in the prosecution of bias-motivated crimes against LGBTQI+ individuals. Society accepted a subculture of transgender dress and behavior, and a prominent NGO’s annual festival highlighted transgender identities.
Availability of Legal Gender Recognition: Legal gender recognition, by which the government allows individuals to change their gender identity marker on legal and identifying documents to bring them into alignment with their gender identity, was not available.
Involuntary or Coercive Medical or Psychological Practices Specifically Targeting LGBTQI+ Individuals: There was no information available whether so-called conversion therapy was practiced to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.
Restrictions of Freedom of Expression, Association, or Peaceful Assembly: There were no restrictions on those speaking out about LGBTQI+ matters such as so-called antigay propaganda laws, “hate speech” laws, or restrictions on the ability of LGBTQI+ organizations to legally register or convene events such as Pride festivities.
Persons with Disabilities
The constitution broadly prohibits discrimination based on disability, but no laws specifically prohibit discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, or mental disabilities. There are no legally mandated services or government programs for adults with disabilities, including for building accessibility or access to communications and information.
There are limited provisions for accessible or specialized transport on roads and at sea for persons with disabilities, causing many to be confined in their homes, unable to access health services, attend school, or be employed. Public buses are not accessible and individuals in wheelchairs who can stand or walk a short distance still need help to board and depart buses. Accessibility to maritime transportation is poor and passengers with disabilities traveling to and from the outer islands relied on family and vessel staff members to physically lift them onto the vessel, which could be hazardous. According to a Universal Periodic Review by international legal nonprofit Just Atonement released on October 2, the government had yet to address the needs of individuals with disabilities, including ensuring their rights to housing, employment opportunity, health care, transportation, and access to education.
A Ministry of Education and Training program to bring children with disabilities into primary schools continued during the year. Many school buildings, however, were not accessible to students with physical disabilities, and attendance rates of children with disabilities at all educational levels were lower than those of students without disabilities.
The National Council on Disability and the Ministry of Internal Affairs maintained a program to provide modest financial assistance to persons with disabilities.