Media

Wednesday 20 December: Royal Commission Recommendations

Body Safety Australia welcomes the Final Report Recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The Royal Commission heard evidence from over 8,000 survivors of childhood sexual abuse over five years and now comprehensively outlines how we can best work to prevent childhood sexual abuse and support those children and young people who have been victimised.

Resoundingly, the Commission advocates for ‘prevention education delivered through daycare, preschool, school, sport and recreational settings and other intuitional settings aims to increase children’s knowledge of sexual abuse and build practical skills to assist in strengthening self protective skills and strategies.’ They go on to say that this education should be delivered to children and young people, parents and professionals. A whole-community approach has been proven to be best practice in prevention education and one that Body Safety Australia adopts in the delivery of our Superstars program.

Body Safety Australia uses best-practice research and ongoing evaluation to guide the development and refinement of our programs. Our evaluations have shown that working alongside early childhood and school educators has been invaluable. This collaborative approach has allowed teachers and leadership teams to build confidence and capacity in prevention education, while supporting parents in adopting child safe practices in the home. This approach also allows for classes to be tailored to meet the cultural and accessibility needs of students and their families.

Survivors of childhood sexual abuse speak frequently of feeling disempowered and not having had an awareness that what was being done to them was wrong or that they could seek assistance from protective adults. The Commission has recommended that ‘children participate in decisions affecting them and [be] taken seriously.’ Having children actively participate in classes is positive, not only for individual children, but also as it continues to inform educators of the concerns held by this generation of children.

We also appreciate the Report’s focus on the role of online safety education for children, parents and professionals. Historically, cybersafety has failed to discuss grooming and non-consensual sexual behaviours either by adults or other young people that put children and young people at risk. We are increasingly seeing childhood sexual abuse being perpetrated online, with Detective Inspector Rouse of Taskforce Argos saying that there has been a ‘proliferation of sexual abuse images self-produced by young children’. It is essential that online education commences for parents and professionals in early childhood settings and for children from primary school. Our online safety program has benefited by being informed by youth consultation and our work in sexual abuse prevention, respectful relationships and sexuality education.

The team at Body Safety Australia would like to offer thanks to the many hundreds of people involved in the Royal Commission both professionally and those brave enough to give evidence. We urge the State and Federal Governments to adopt all the recommendations and look forward to creating a culture where grooming behaviour is called to account and where children’s voices are heard and acted upon.

Media Contact: Deanne Carson | 0410 613 040 |

What Does it Mean to Be a Feminist Teacher - p. 23, Redress, Educators Riding the Wave of #MeToo

What is Body Safety Education and how does it support the Child Safe Standards? - p.16, Preschool Matters, July 20th 2017

Can I give you a hug? - Community Early Learning Australia (CELA), August 17th 2017.

Teaching kids how to seek consent, not just the ability to say 'no' - SBS, August 8th 2017

We need to teach consent to our kids from as young as three-years-old - Kidspot, August 3rd 2017

Why it's not OK for a stranger to touch my baby - Pinky McKay, September 8th 2015

Sex Education Must Cater to Diversity - The Age, February 5th 2014

We Say Sorry - Sheilas: An Initiative of the Victorian Women's Trust, April 18th 2013

Periods Are Gross - Catherine Deveny, February 6th 2015

Hair on Your Front Bottom - Mum's Lounge: Australia's Lifestyle Website for Mums, June 30th 2013

“I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful work you have done with the children, families and educators at Minimbah. The feedback from our families about the program has been very positive and our work with you has also provided us with a wonderful provocation for reflection and discussion as a team of educators. The children have embraced the concepts covered in your sessions and we are gradually trying to build learning around emotions, assertive language, consent and permission into our program to scaffold and support the children’s learning.

Thank you for providing us with such strong modelling, we are all feeling more empowered to cover this content as a result of our sessions with you!”

Lisa Coxon, Director of Minimbah Early Childhood Centre, Woodleigh School

“. . . a tough topic but done with such sensitivity, professionalism and humour. Informative and respectful to children, young people, their carer’s and their community. This is the epitome of good collaborative, educative work at all levels”

Maria Strofalis, Family Counsellor, Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand

“TRY Australia’s Children’s Service have benefited greatly from the non-biased and knowledgeable content delivered to our Teachers and Educators. Staff feel empowered in delivering a ‘Body Safe’ curriculum to our children and our families. Thank you, Body Safety Australia!”

Tabitha Farrugia, Early Years Advisor, TRY Australia

“The Professional Development session we did with Body Safety Australia was hugely beneficial to all of our staff. Our new staff members got a great understanding of body safety for children and our more experienced staff were able to refresh and confirm their practices. The delivery was well considered and allowed for lots of discussion.”

Ben Mason, OHSC Coordinator, Merri Creek Primary School

“Expertly delivered using very accessible language and anecdotes. Highly engaging and full of practical examples. This should be MANDATORY training for all graduate teachers/childcare workers! Also as part of the teacher undergraduate course. ”

Brunswick North West Primary School OSHC

“Thank you so much Deanne, for the evening and everything. I got so much out of it; one of the best parenting things I’ve done. You’re the talk of the playground!”

A.M, Badger Creek Primary School