Bola Masauvakalo and Hellen Bennett - Role of witness support officers in the justice system

From 4-6 March 2024 the PILON Sexual and Gender Based Violence Working Group held an Implementation Workshop in Nadi, Fiji, for the Regional Guidelines for Prosecutors and Witness Support Officers to support Vulnerable Witnesses through the Prosecution of Sexual and Gender Based Violence Offences.
Bola Masauvakalo is a Victim Support Officer at the Vanuatu Office of the Public Prosecutor, and Hellen Bennett is the senior Witness Liaison Officer at the Solomon Islands Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Both presenters discuss the importance of their roles as victim/witness support officers, and how they contribute to successful outcomes for witnesses. They also discuss how their roles differ from that of a prosecutor and how managing stress allows them to perform better in their roles.
To view the Regional Guidelines and other supporting resources, please visit the SGBV digital library on the PILON website at pilonsec.org.
For more information about this webinar or the activities of the SGBV Working Group please email [e-mail].