The safeguarding of children and young people is the responsibility of everyone. Safeguarding refers to the actions we must take to ensure the ongoing process of building and maintaining a child-safe environment, culture. The safety and well-being of children and young people is something that every person should contribute to.
Historically as a society we have taught our children about “stranger danger”. How to be aware of people in white vans giving out candy. One of the greatest misconceptions in safeguarding our kids from predators who would do them harm is that it is strangers they need to be concerned about. This is part of the narrative adults are taught as children, and repeats ad verbatim. It is a vital part of the grooming of society that protects Child Sex Offenders and perpetuates harm inflicted on children. Offenders want you to believe this, so they can remain undetected and when children and young people disclose harm, victims are not believed. Understandably, no one wants to believe that someone they love- who the child loves- could be the cause of the devastating life-changing effects of the Sexual Abuse of Children.
This societal grooming creates a sense of false safety and a blind spot for whom children need safeguarding. Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse can attest that the perpetrators whom they should have been protected from are people they trusted. No one told them it was the very people they knew and loved who they needed protecting from.
Evidence-based research supports the lived experience of Victims and Survivors. The 2023 Australian Child Maltreatment study indicates that an unfathomable 96% of all Child Sexual Abuse is perpetrated by someone known to the child, by someone in the child's inner support network, 72% are natural parents. Only 4% of Offenders are strangers.
The nefarious way this happens often means that abuse starts at a much younger age, is more persistent, and occurs more than once. 78% of participants in the study indicated the abuse happened more than once, 42% more than 6 times, and 11% more than 50 times. Even more staggering, the study revealed that 28.5% or 5.8 million Australians have experienced Child Sexual Abuse. That equates to 1 in 5 boys and more than 1 in 3 girls. 8 children in an average classroom of 30, will be sexually abused.
With the evidence that Child Sex Offenders establish themselves in a position of trust in the child’s network, we must revisit how we safeguard our children. Providing children with knowledge empowers the child's abilities and instincts and builds confidence and trust in themselves. It teaches them healthy boundaries and how to respect both their own and those of others.
One concept in the approach to educating children and young people about safeguarding involves ‘tricky people”. It changes the focus to behaviours tricky people might exhibit that might not be safe, rather than labelling people strangers. It includes:
Anyone can be a tricky person, including family members.
Encouraging strong relationships with children and young people.
Teaches it is okay to talk about and acknowledge feelings.
Normalises the names of body parts as part of everyday life. This helps eliminate the shame that victims and survivors experience and is a barrier to disclosing harm. It can also assist in providing clarity in explaining what is happening without confusion and feelings of embarrassment and shame.
Keeps conversations simple and easy to understand by using language that is age-appropriate for the child.
Uses role-play scenarios to teach about different situations and how to manage them.
Encourage questions and give honest answers, if there is something you don’t know, explain that it's a good question and you don't know but will find out and get back to them.
Follow through.
Teaches the differences between secrets, privacy, and surprises to easily identify unsafe behaviours. Tricky people ask the child to keep secrets from their support network. Encouraging secrets creates isolation and fear making them vulnerable to manipulation.
Behaviours of Tricky People include:
Insisting on being alone with the child in an attempt to exploit vulnerabilities and further isolate the child.
Ignoring parents and their boundaries and creating discord is another attempt at isolation.
Position themselves as supportive of the child creating a false sense of safety.
Create a sense of urgency and pressure the child into following their instructions by using threats and fears making it difficult for the child to think clearly.
Promises, treats, rewards, and fun activities establish the child's trust and make them feel indebted to the tricky person.
Make the child feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Pay close attention to the child expressing not wanting to be around the tricky person.
Observe the body language of the child and listen and take seriously any concerns the child has about a tricky person.
Always believe the child.
The most vital part of safeguarding children after establishing a strong trusting relationship is to always believe them when they tell you they are uncomfortable around a person.
Always believe the child when they disclose any harm. Always take action to protect the child.
How you respond can either cause further trauma and permanently damage your relationship by protecting and believing the offender, or change the direction of healing and their future.
We have a moral, legal, and duty of care to children to ensure they can reach their potential in safety.
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