The Nauruan government has declared the small island nation is "in some ways" safer than Australia, as it defends its reputation to resettle refugees.
Nauru's decision to turn the detention facility into a 24-7 "open centre", allowing asylum-seekers to come and go as they like, has been slammed as "meaningless" by some advocates who claim refugees have been raped or attacked while living in the community. 
Nauru's Justice Minister, David Adeang, dismissed the -allegations yesterday, arguing organisations like the Refugee Action Coalition "fabricated" stories to suit their agenda.
He added that "in some ways Nauru is safer than Australia".
The Nauruan government on Monday promised to process the claims of all asylum-seekers within a week, saying detention on the island "had ended".
"There is no gun violence in Nauru, people are not dying from domestic violence and our police don't even have to be armed, so let's get some perspective into this discussion," Mr -Adeang said.
"Nauru is a much safer place than the countries many of the refugees have left. "It is a nation where locals and refugees live side by side and can be seen every day shopping, relaxing, dining out, swimming and going about their normal -activities." Greens immigration spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young said that the statement was -"absolutely absurd" and "very, very concerning".
"I'm alarmed that we have a statement from the Justice Minister denying that women have been raped, assaulted, that young asylum-seekers already living in the community have been harassed, assaulted and beaten," she said on Sky News.
"You've got to wonder, what does he think has happened?
"That women have beaten themselves up and then taken photos and sent them around to the media or indeed to refugee advocates?
"(It's) scary to see the man in charge of ensuring that these crimes are investigated denying they even took place in the first instance." Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said on Monday night that Nauru was a safe country for refugees and confirmed the Turnbull government was still hoping to strike new bilateral agreements with countries other than Cambodia to send those with genuine claims.
Asked if the government could "guarantee" their safety on Nauru, Mr Dutton told ABC TV: "The Australian government or the Queensland or NSW or Victorian government, can't provide you with that guarantee for -people coming out into the Australian society."But the reasonable suggestion is that if people do the wrong thing (in Nauru), if they commit an offence, are they going to be investigated and prosecuted if evidence substantiates a prosecution? Yes, of course."