The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has embarked on a programme of delivering public awareness within the framework of corporate goal of “Prosecution for Stretim Pipol Lo Ples”.
It was designed to inform the general public about the role of the ODPP, certain critical issues affecting the nation and the implication of new laws that Parliament had recently enacted.
In the month of October, awareness programs took Senior Legal Officers (SLOs) of the ODPP to various schools.
The first talk was conducted at King George Sixth School. The second awareness was delivered at Honiara High School and a third at the University of the South Pacific Solomon Islands Campus.
Yesterday, the SLO team again made a presentation consisting of three topics at Betikama Adventist College (BAC). The topics were the same as those presented at King George Sixth School, Honiara High School and at the USP SI Campus.
They included the ‘Role of the ODPP’, ‘Gender Based Violence’ and ‘The Family Protection Act 2014’. These topics were presented by different SLO’s taking turns. Most of the speakers were ex-students from KGVI, HHS, USP SI and Betikama.
The focus was the recent enacted law ‘The Family Protection Act’. The Act has yet to be gazetted however the ODPP has taken the initiative to give schools an introduction and a sneak view of what the law is, its purpose and how it will operate to protect families.
Students were engaged in questions and answers and it was encouraging to receive feedbacks from them during discussions with the Presenters. Prizes were awarded to students who gave correct answers as well as to students who asked questions.
The students did not hesitate in asking or answering questions, and this shows how the students were keen to learn more about the laws of their country. Even after the presentations, students crowded around the Awareness team seeking more information.
The outreaching is essential to create awareness about the existence and the enforcement of the various laws. It is quite obvious that most young people who make up the high population in this country do not know the purpose or the existence of some of the laws.
