“It’s a form of currency and in order to access it they [women] have no other option, but to actually offer this sexual favour.”
She said initial findings show women in the Pacific were “significantly impacted” by sextortion, adding Transparency International has found the issue could be more prevalent than in other parts of the world.
“This is the first time we’re getting this sort of data,” she said.
“We need to have conversations with stakeholders [working] in this space to understand what the issue is, what is being done about it, what needs to be done about it?” she added.
Transparency International will use the initial analysis from the survey to conduct focus group discussions with key stakeholders.
Mathew said these discussions will be held at the national and regional levels by working with groups in the field of gender to validate the findings but also provide more context to it.
She added the final report is expected to come out later this year.
- RNZ