Winners and losers: Budget 2014

Well, the Budget has been handed down, and as expected, families, low income earners, health and education were the big losers. Mining, infrastructure, defence and medical research is sitting pretty, though. Here’s the verdict from the Twitterverse…   Continue Reading →

Inquiry into children in detention

The Australian Human Rights Commission is currently holding an inquiry into children in immigration detention, looking at the short- and long-term impact detention has on children. Continue Reading →

Desperately seeking asylum

January in Australia is usually hot. Stinking hot. Right now, this minute, Australia is literally the hottest spot in the world*. Adelaide reached tops of 46+ degrees today, which is pretty bloody hot, but I am reminded by many on Twitter about the horrible conditions the asylum seekers on Nauru face, every day. Continue Reading →

Dealing with past child abuse

How do you respond to an adult who tells you they were abused as a child? While we are well rehearsed in child protection, there is little guidance available for when a colleague or parent makes a disclosure. Child protection trainer Karen Roberts shares her story.

Listening to the truth of someone’s life is a privilege and an honour. When you tell someone your history, they should receive it as such.’ (Bass & Davis, 1997, p.100).

The first part of this quote is something I say frequently, as a trainer in child protection. As educators within children’s services, it is important that we learn how to respond to a child’s disclosure of abuse, and this is a vital component of child protection training. Continue Reading →

Are staff keeping children safe?

Children’s services staff play a vital role in child protection, but do we have the skills and resources to properly fulfil our role as mandatory reporters under Keep Them Safe? Ingrid Maack reports.

While Keep Them Safe (KTS) has been welcomed as the necessary first step to better child protection, there are calls for clarity on the role children’s services are expected to now play. Continue Reading →

Breaking the silence on abuse

Child abuse was highlighted during 2002 with the allegation that a number of churches and institutions had covered up incidents of child sexual abuse. Eddy Jokovich looks at the history of child abuse in Australia and welcomes the end of one of our country’s great silences. Continue Reading →