116 Coorey, L. (2001), op.cit.
117 Child and Family Welfare Association of Australia (2002), Media Release, ‘Repeat cases of child abuse demand new national response, 27 August, citing: A time to invest in Australia’s most disadvantaged children, young people, and their families’, http://www.acwa.asn.au/.
118 Child and Family Welfare Association of Australia (2002), ibid.
119 AAP. (2010), ‘$750 shake-up of child services’, Canberra Times, 25 January, p. 4.
120 Horin, A. (2011), ‘Child deaths reveal tragic trail of neglect in families’, Sydney Morning Herald August 25th, http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/child-deaths-reveal-tragic-trail-of-neglect-in-families-20110824-1jac1.html.
121 AAP (2011), ‘Ombudsman slams NSW child welfare’, August 30, 2011.
122 http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,26023514-2862,00.html
3
CHILD PROTECTION AND THE ROLE OF EDUCATORS, CHILD CARERS, SCHOOL COUNSELLORS AND OTHERS IN CHILD-RELATED SERVICES
The protection of children is the sacred duty of us all.
—Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia, 16th November 2009
Governments recognised the importance of educators, child carers and health and welfare professionals as children’s protectors when they included them in mandatory reporting legislation in the US, Canada and South Australia in the late 1970s. Paradoxically, this importance was not and, in some cases, is still not recognised by employers or the universities and colleges that educate human service personnel.
Schools and early childhood centres are most important in abuse prevention and child protection given that staff spend more time with abused and neglected children than anyone outside their immediate families. A knowledgeable professional can identify and handle signs of abuse in psychologicaIly helpful ways. An uninformed professional can cause additional psychological harm by dismissing, ignoring, misreading or punishing disclosures of sexual abuse in particular. In addition, human service professionals have the best opportunities for both raising community and parental awareness of the need to protect children and educate them to identify, avoid and report inappropriate and criminal behaviour.
If adequately informed, educators, counsellors, carers and health professionals can:
identify “at risk” children and victims in the early stages of abuse and neglect. Victims of sexual abuse may exhibit age-inappropriate sexual behaviours, draw sexuaIly explicit pictures or give hints about what is happening or just “tell it as it is”. Educators and carers need to know how to recognise and report abuse and support victims
report suspicions and evidence of abuse to child protection services or police
provide support and therapeutic activities for victims
provide support and advice for non-offending parents of sexually abused children and victims of family violence
help parents of children “at risk” to contact support and counselling services
reduce the risk of abuse and neglect by encouraging parent participation in the classroom/centre, modelling positive child management strategies and opportunities to engage in educational activities/play
provide a parents’ club with opportunities to improve knowledge and skills in desired areas such as single-parenting, nutrition and budgeting on a pension, women’s health, positive child management techniques, etc.
maintain regular contact with parents in succinct newsletters and meetings. When children are aged 4-8 years, parents will usually attend parent-teacher gatherings and some will volunteer to assist in classrooms
help children to identify, prevent and stop abuse by providing curriculum that provides realistic safety knowledge and skills. Schools teach children to stay safe in traffic, water, with electricity, fire and heat. They are best equipped to teach children to stay safe with people, in real life and on the internet
inform parents what is being taught, why and, most importantly, how they can reinforce safety strategies at home
Massey University’s research into the effectiveness of New Zealand’s national child protection curriculum showed that safety strategies taught in school were discussed at home and this was significant in the success of that programme1. The author also found that when New Zealand parents were involved, children gained confidence and had the best safety knowledge and skills2.
Educators and carers are also important professionals in child protection because:
parents have a poor history of protecting their children
most child abuse occurs within the family circle
some children are abused in school by other children or adults; on the other hand
for some victims, their school or centre may be their only safe environment
Parents, some police and even some teachers continue to limit safety education to avoiding abduction by strangers, despite the fact that most abuse is committed by known and trusted people and, furthermore, published research findings have shown (since 1989) that children under 9-10 years do not understand what a stranger is3,4.
The Australian Federal Government’s Safe Schools Framework
The Safe Schools Framework (2003) stated that all government and non-government education authorities are committed to ensuring the wellbeing of all Australian children in the education system*. Typical jurisdictional practices to prevent and respond to bullying, harassment, violence, and child abuse and neglect were identified as the provision of:
* The author was Child Protection Consultant to the Federal Minister for Education for the writing of The National Safe Schools Framework
guidance and advice in the development of written child protection policies
whole-school approaches that involve parents/carers, parent workshops, school boards, and relevant associations
child protection curriculum that includes discriminatory behaviours involving gender, race, sexuality, disability and religion
professional training for staff on countering child abuse, bullying and harassment; procedures (including mandatory reporting); identifying and understanding all forms of child abuse, including the needs of victims
resources for helping students to recognise/report abuse, and develop safety knowledge and skills
specific encouragement for the empowerment of students by involving them in decision-making and resolution processes through, for example, training in peer mediation, class meetings and the adoption of “buddy” systems
specialist support, especially for teachers who encounter abuse and work with severely disturbed students
police checks on all school personnel (including volunteers)
It was recognised that:
an essential function of all schools is that all children and young people have a right to learn in a safe, supportive environment and be treated with respect
Australians rightly expect education authorities to take all possible steps to ensure the safety of students, to support them and set out clearly, transparently and explicitly the policies and programmes they have in place to