Province places focus on victims

UNDER the East New Britain division of community development, there are nine programme areas that deal with people in society, says an official.
ENB community development senior child protection officer Serah Tade said from the nine programmes, the remedial programme was prioritised which dealt with family welfare issues and assisted victims of violence under the Lukautim Pikinini Act.
“In 2020 the division established a Family Sexual Violence secretariat and in that we established a network within the rural local communities to ensure that the services we provide under the Lukautim Pikinini Act were delivered to the people,” Tade said.
She said eight officers had been given devaluation powers under the child protection desk at the secretariat’s offices in Gazelle, Kokopo, Rabaul and Pomio districts.
Tade said the officers now had the power to represent children in court which meant they could ensure all cases involving children were dealt with efficiently.
She said the Child Welfare Council was empowered by Lukautim Pikinini Act and empowered and directed child protection officers to execute their duties and roles.