Education programs for carers, parents and teachers to help identify child abuse is a vital need within Brimbank, according to an expert.
A series of child safety programs run through Brimbank council last year revealed an education vacuum within some schools, childcare centres and other child services in Brimbank.
Those programs triggered ‘Speak Up’, a training session aimed at increasing awareness and understanding of child abuse, to be held in Brimbank on Februrary 15 at Taylors Lakes Hall.
The manager of abuse prevention organisation Childwise, Penelope McEncroe, said: “We knew from delivering those programs … there’s a need. We thought we’d go where the need is greatest [for Speak Up].”
She said people in Brimbank were among the most frequent callers to Childwise’s child abuse prevention hotline.
“We often get inquiries from schools within that area … saying we have an issue with problematic sexual behaviours between kids,” she said.
The Speak Up session will reveal how child sexual offenders target children.
“We talk about grooming children in general, also online, and we talk about the dynamics of sex offenders and how they operate,” she said.
Lack of understanding
Mrs McEncroe found people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds often did not understand what constituted child abuse in Australia.
“There’s a lot of childcare centres and other child services [in Brimbank] that employ people from CALD communities,” she said.
“A good example is physical abuse. Many cultures, other cultures, believe physical abuse is an acceptable form of discipline within family settings. [There are] some pockets of Australian communities, too; non-ethnic groups who think that’s OK.
“We advocate that discipline should not be about any form of abuse. It should be about developing the child rather than punishing the child.”
Call 9645 8911 or email office@childwise.org.au for more information.
