Port Vila 17 June 2026: For decades, policing across Vanuatu meant maintaining law and order at all costs. But in that rigid world of rules, our most vulnerable citizens – our children – were left out in the cold. They saw the uniform not as a shield of safety, but as a badge of fear.
Inspector Morris Charley, now Deputy Director of the Vanuatu Police Training College, remembers those days all too clearly. Early in his career, standard procedures completely lacked the empathy needed to handle young minds.
"Back then, we forced law and order on children," Charley reflects. "We dragged them to the station for harsh interviews, and as they grew up, they didn't see us as friends. They saw the police as the enemy, and society as a place without justice."
This rigid approach becomes especially harmful when dealing with severe domestic and sexual abuse. Unlike adults, children who have faced trauma often face deep psychological barriers to speaking out. "A child suffering from sexual abuse is carrying a heavy, silent weight," Charley explains. "They will not confess their trauma to a stranger in uniform unless we completely change our approach."
Worse, when the perpetrator lives under the same roof, traditional family structures often bury the truth. "Our culture emphasises protecting the family, but sometimes that very culture allows horrific crimes to happen right inside the home," Charley warns. "Mothers and children are silenced by the authority of a father. Only a fraction of these crimes is reported; the rest stay hidden in the shadows."
For Inspector Charley, this exposes a critical gap.
"Think about the trauma”, he says, “we put a perpetrator in prison, but the child has to live with the scars for the rest of their life. If the system walks away after the arrest instead of wrapping a whole network of care around the survivor, how can they ever truly heal?"
This is precisely why passing the Child Protection Bill is an urgent necessity for law enforcement. It is not just about making arrests; it is about creating a legally mandated, coordinated, multi-agency system that centres entirely on the child's recovery. The Bill provides legal teeth to ensure that police, child protection, healthcare workers, and the courts move together as a synchronised shield.
"A dedicated law shifts the focus from just punishing the crime to actively restoring the child," Charley argues. "It creates a government-backed system where survivors are protected and given the comprehensive support they need to heal and recover."
Ultimately, this is about transforming the entire relationship between law enforcement and our communities over the next ten years. With over 1,000 officers spread across our islands, the goal is to turn every single officer into someone children can trust and turn to for protection.
To bring this vision to life, Vanuatu Police Training College (VPTC) is carrying out a Training of Trainers initiative, which will eventually be rolled out to every frontline police officer across the country, strengthening their abilities in handling children in contact with the law. VPTC aims to be a police training centre, equipping Vanuatu Police with skills, knowledge, and values to serve effectively, address modern crimes, meet community needs, and protect the rights and welfare of all people in Vanuatu, including children.
Inspector Charley has a clear vision for what that future looks like: "In ten years, I want to see a complete transformation of the mindset in Vanuatu. When a child sees a police officer walking into their village, they should never run away in fear. I want that child to run toward the officer. I want them to look at the uniform and see a friend, a protector, and someone they can trust."
