Features:

Children's Safety Charity Launched
Personal Safety Australia is thrilled to announce the launch of our non-profit sister organisation. Children's Safety Australia Inc. is a Brisbane-based charity and incorporated association with a mission to maximise the safety and enhance the wellbeing of children and young people and encourage them to reach their full potential.

Children's Safety Australia Inc. acknowledges the vulnerability of children and young people to personal violence, as evidenced by the following:  

• Child abuse is Australia’s most serious social problem¹. In Australia a child is reported abused or neglected every two minutes, a rate that has more than doubled over the last few years¹. Conservative estimates suggest that 10 - 20% of Australian children (upwards of 550,000) are being abused or neglected every year².

• All children are at risk of sexual abuse regardless of their age, gender, social class, race, religion or ethnicity. It is estimated as many as one in three boys and girls will experience some form of sexual abuse before they leave school³. Most children are abused by people they know and trust³ and about one third of abuse is perpetrated by other children or young people⁴.

• At least one in six Australian children is bullied by another child or group of children on a weekly basis⁵. The most significant emerging problem is anonymous cyber bullying using the internet and mobile phones.

• The long term personal and community effects of abuse and bullying are immense, and include increased risks of substance addiction, personal violence, homelessness, poor health, educational failure, poor employability, mental illness, depression and suicide².  As a result past victims of abuse and neglect are grossly over-represented in prison populations, as perpetrators of crime, and amongst the most economically and socially disadvantaged members of our society².

Children's Safety Australia Inc. aims to maximise the safety and enhance the wellbeing of children and young people and encourage them to reach their full potential by:

a) Equipping, empowering and inspiring children and young people with knowledge and skills to reduce the risk of harmful behaviours (including emotional, sexual and physical abuse, bullying, suicide, self harm and substance abuse) by assisting them to:

• build a healthy self esteem and resilience;

• demonstrate respect and empathy for others;

• identify and effectively respond to potentially unsafe situations;

• identify, prevent and stop inappropriate behaviour including emotional, physical and sexual abuse, bullying and self-harming behaviour;

• access help from trusted adults and relevant organisations;

• report abuse and continue reporting until the abuse stops;

• avoid victimisation; and

• reduce the risk of engaging in offending behaviour.

b) Equipping, empowering and inspiring adults responsible for children and young people's safety with knowledge and skills to reduce the risk of harmful behaviours (including emotional, sexual and physical abuse, bullying, suicide, self harm and substance abuse) by assisting them to:

• identify risks faced by children and young people;

• recognise, and appropriately respond to, indicators and disclosures of inappropriate behaviour;

• gain an awareness of dangerous safety messages and practices to avoid;

• relay and reinforce key safety concepts and strategies to children and young people and encourage the development of skills to maximise their safety; 

• create a supportive environment to promote children and young people's safety and wellbeing and to build positive relationships with them; and

• role model key safety concepts and strategies.

To achieve these aims Children's Safety Australia Inc. looks forward to promoting the awareness of key safety issues via awareness campaigns, competitions, an awards program and by developing and distributing promotional and resource materials. Development of the organisation's website (childsafety.org.au) is currently under way. 

Commencing 30 June 2008, Personal Safety Australia will be donating 10 percent of all income to Children's Safety Australia Inc.

YOU can support Children's Safety Australia Inc.

by:   a) becoming a member;

       b) assisting with a project; or

       c) by making a donation.

Look out for a Children's Safety Australia Inc. update in the Spring 2008 edition of Insight.  Contact us for more information.

Call for National Child Protection Curriculum
With the current push for national uniformity in English, maths, science and history curricula, there is an opportunity for the Federal Government to concurrently implement the most valuable curriculum of all to protect our children.

Education is clearly the key to a safer environment and without an effective child protection program, children are left vulnerable, lacking the essential tools to recognise and report abuse. In addition, parents and educators are unlikely to have the skills and knowledge for professional, responsible action. As the most important professionals in child protection, teachers need to know what to look for, how to report abuse or suspected abuse and how to support victims.

To date, the primary defence against the threat to children's safety, adopted by the majority of parents and teachers alike, is the dangerously flawed 'Stranger Danger' theory which hails from the 1920s¹.

The implementation of a national child protection curriculum, providing all Australian children with basic safety and awareness skills, would generate far-reaching impacts on children and young people in avoiding victimisation, increasing the reporting of abuse and reducing the risk of engaging in offending behaviour. The long-term social and financial benefits of such a program are incalculable.

The direct economic cost of abuse and neglect of Australian children was estimated to be $5 billion in 2003 and a further $769 million in 2004 factoring in the cost of family violence on children².

Currently South Australia and New South Wales are the only two Australian States with child protection curriculum in schools. New Zealand has had an independently evaluated and successful national child protection program, 'Keeping Ourselves Safe', in place since 1985.

As the ruling government and as a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child the Federal Government has a duty to protect Australian children and ensure they are taught practical strategies and skills to effectively respond to safety threats. Failing to provide children with these essential safety skills significantly increases their vulnerability to abuse.

Personal Safety Australia encourages all people in support of a national child protection curriculum to write to the Federal Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, or to their federal government member. A sample letter is attached to assist. Contact us for further information.

Difficult Clients Special Offer

Do you deal with difficult or aggressive customers?

Are you confident in handling these people effectively while maintaining your personal composure and safety?

When people are upset common sense is highly uncommon. People lose their ability to communicate effectively and they often aren't thinking clearly. Personal Safety Australia Dealing with Difficult and Aggressive Clients services assist those working customer service roles to be tactical rather than reactive to effectively manage these situations.

Personal Safety Australia offers a one day Dealing with Difficult and Aggressive Clients Workshop to provide participants with a range of personal safety, communication and problem-solving skills to assist them to maintain their personal composure, safety and wellbeing and to provide an excellent standard of customer service when dealing with difficult and aggressive customers.

Personal Safety Australia has a special offer of 20% off the normal cost of Dealing with Difficult and Aggressive Clients Workshops for organisations making a booking prior to 31July 2008. Workshops must be held prior to 31 December 2008.

Don't take our word for it. Here's what participants have to say about the workshop:

• 'Enjoyed the training and recommend this to trainees in customer service as a mandatory requirement.'

• 'Crucial in our day to day role with Council.'

• 'I feel more confident in dealing with customers. Excellent training.'

• 'Great course and I have over 30 years experience in customer service and over 20 years self defence experience.'

• 'Great workshop I will encourage more members to attend.'

• 'This is one of the best learning days I have ever had.'

Contact us for further information or to make a booking.

Protection from the Silent Crime
Child sexual abuse is often described as the 'silent crime'. It is the most under-reported of all crimes. When reported, is the least likely to be acted upon. If acted upon, it is the least punished of all crime. Yet it is a crime that affects more Australian children than any other, with an estimated one in every three boys and girls experiencing some form of sexual abuse in their childhood¹. The secrecy surrounding sexual abuse is compounded by the fact that the vast majority of children are abused by people they know and trust and about one third of abuse is perpetrated by other children or young people².

As concerned adults what can we do to protect our children from this silent crime? This article provides a number of strategies that can be adapted to suit children and young people of all ages:

i) Body Ownership:
One of the most powerful messages to prevent children from becoming a victim of sexual abuse is that their body belongs to them and that no one can touch their body without their permission. It is also important for children to identify their 'private parts', using the correct terminology. Talking openly with children about these matters, particularly from a young age, helps prevent feelings of embarrassment or shame and encourages children to disclose uncomfortable or abusive situations.

ii) Defining abuse:
Child sex offenders prey upon children who are naïve and are unaware of what constitutes inappropriate touching. Children need to be aware that it is not okay for anyone to look at or touch their private parts unless there is a good reason for it.  It is also not okay for anyone to make a child touch or look at their private parts or someone else's private parts. 

iii) Responding to abuse:
Strategies to respond to inappropriate touching should be discussed with children, such as 'No, Go, Tell' - immediately telling the offending person 'NO!', removing themselves from the situation and telling a trusted adult as soon as possible. Children should be encouraged to continue telling trusted adults until they are listened to, believed and action is taken to ensure they feel safe again.

iv) Known abusers:
As previously mentioned, the vast majority of child abuse is perpetrated by a person know to the child. It is imperative children are aware of this possibility and have strategies to respond to abuse [as outlined in iii)].

It is important for concerned adults to be aware of the grooming process used by offenders to groom both the child target and their parents. Concerned adults should be attentive to anyone who takes a special interest in a child, particularly if they seek opportunities to spend time alone with them.  Children should be encouraged to always tell a parent or another trusted adult if an adult offers them a gift, asks them to keep a secret or spends time alone with them. 

While it is common to think 'this will never happen to my child' we need to hope for the best, but consider and take steps to reduce the risk of the worst.

v) Unknown abusers:
In addition to alerting children to the possibility of harm from a known and often trusted person, which is unequivocally the most likely scenario, children should also be aware that unknown people may also present a danger. They should avoid approaching a car with a stranger inside, accepting a gift or going anywhere with someone they don't know or trust.

Unfortunately many children believe strangers to always be male and to have a distinctly sinister appearance. Children need to be aware that strangers can appear very friendly and look like 'normal' people. 

It is also important to advise children that 'good strangers' exist and can be called upon for help in a personal emergency. Suggested good strangers include police officers, shop assistants and parents with children.

vi) Secrets and surprises:
Offenders use secrecy to keep their victims silent.  Subsequently children need to know the difference between a secret and a surprise, and that we don't keep secrets. We generally feel happy and excited keeping surprises, which may be about birthday gifts, special visitors, parties or kind gestures for others.  Secrets, by contrast, often evoke anxiety and feeling scared and unsafe. Children need to be able to identify secrets and what to do if someone tells them to keep a secret, i.e. to tell a trusted adult immediately.

Personal Safety Australia offers Empowering Children to Stay Safe Awareness Sessions (2 hours) and Workshops (one day), which cover these and other fundamental children's safety principles. Contact us to make a booking or to find out more.

References:

1 Briggs, F & McVeity, M 2000, Teaching Children to Protect Themselves, Allen & Unwin, Sydney.

2 McMenamin, B 2006, Childwise Speak Up – An Australian campaign to protect children from sexual abuse, Melbourne Vic.