Going Beyond "See something, say something"

Over the past few weeks we have yet again seen horrific reports regarding abuse of children in the early education sector. There is clear acknowledgement that things need to change but this is not new. The Final Report of The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was published in 2017. Since then a lot of work has been done, we have a raft of new legislation, Child Safe Standards, regulation, policies and increased awareness. Yet, despite all this we continue to hear these horrific stories of sexual and physical abuse within organisations.

At Growing Futures we believe that legislation, policies and regulation are vital, but so is behaviour, and this is the focus of today's blog.

In 2021 The Australian Childhood Foundation (ACF) released their report into community attitudes about child abuse. They found that 1 in 6 respondents were uncertain or would be reluctant to report a child being abused or neglected even if they were sure of the facts.

Many recent cases have only come to light because the perpetrator posted abuse material online, not because people raised concerns and when people did raise concerns they were not heard, understood or acted upon.

The phrase "see something, say something" is often used to highlight the need to speak up. ( It should be noted that in Victoria it is a criminal offense to not report suspicions a child is experiencing sexual abuse.) Yet despite this people do not speak up.

There are lots of reasons why people do not speak up, including

• A lack of confidence that what they are seeing is abuse

• Fears of getting it wrong and falsely accusing someone

• Fear for their own safety if the perpetrator finds out

The research from ACF also highlighted that "not wanting to get involved" was another key theme. This can be related to beliefs that its not their responsibility or that someone else will report it. This placing the responsibility on someone else is common.

The problem is that perpetrators know this. They know that people have a reluctance to speak up or lack the confidence. Perpetrators who offend in organisations will look for settings where there is a culture of silence, where children are seen and not heard and where staff may not be empowered to speak up.

A key focus of our workshops is supporting open conversations about child safety. The more we talk about it, the easier it gets to have these conversations. Shared language is important.

One activity I always recommend to teams who have completed Child Safe Standards workshops is to discuss a scenario at every team meeting. The scenario can be fictional or it can be a team member discussing a tricky situation they have experienced related to child safety. (e.g. a parent came into the toilet area as their child was in there but other children were also present using the toilet) and the team discuss different ways to respond. This can also be a helpful way to build knowledge of the child safety and wellbeing policy which can be consulted (and updated if required).

In 2026 we will have an increased focus on this in our services. If this is something that interests you please register here for further information.