Three national child protection organisations have joined forces to create a powerful alliance in the fight against child sexual abuse.
Act for Kids, Bravehearts and the Daniel Morcombe Foundation will this week launch e-kidna – an advocacy group promoting system change and education to help keep kids safe.
Launching on Children’s Week and with the goal to empower Australians to recognise, react and report child sexual abuse, e-kidna will loudly advocate to all levels of government for the protection of kids.
Holding 80 years’ combined experience, e-kidna will also offer an online resource hub for parents, carers, and those with children in their lives to gain understanding, tools, and information.
The need for the alliance is clear – despite the three organisations working tirelessly alongside others to prevent and address child sexual abuse – the harrowing statistics continue to rise.
In Australia, more than 1 in 3 girls and almost 1 in 5 boys experienced child sexual abuse (Australian Child Maltreatment Study ACMS 2023).
Overall, this represents 28.5% of Australian children – more than 1 in 4.
Child sexual abuse is an urgent national challenge – which is why e-kidna fully supports the Australian Government’s new National Child Safety Campaign launched yesterday.
The alliance applauds the campaign’s message of “One Talk at a Time” and looks forward to working with the National Office for Child Safety to deliver more child abuse prevention strategies.
Quotes attributable to Act for Kids CEO Dr Katrina Lines: “It takes a whole community working together to prevent child sexual abuse. It can’t be tackled without collaboration, sharing and learning. We are reaching out to share our expertise and resources in the national fight for prevention.”
Quotes attributable to Bruce Morcombe OAM (Daniel Morcombe Foundation): “National child abuse prevention strategies are overdue. The welfare of children is at stake. We want action, we want to continue to keep kids safe right now and into the future.”
Quotes attributable to Denise Morcombe OAM: “We need to stop the abuse before it starts. Think of the reduction in trauma and in cost if we were able to give parents/carers, and children education, tools and support to stop children getting abused in the first instance.”
Quotes attributable to Bravehearts CEO Alison Geale: “Child sexual abuse is preventable. Responsible adults can make a difference, their education plays a significant role in protection. The statistics need to change and that time for change is now. Families, communities, and governments must all work together to ensure our children are safe from sexual harm. Not one day, today.
ENDS
More about e-kidna group
Organisations involved:
- Act for Kids delivers evidence-led professional therapy and support services to help keep kids safe, heal from trauma and lead happy lives.
- Bravehearts delivers a coordinated and holistic approach to the prevention and treatment of child sexual abuse.
- Daniel Morcombe Foundation educates children and young people about how to stay safe in offline and online environments and supports young victims of crime.