“CHILDREN should be able to name five adults they can tell anything to no matter what it is,” Allambee Counselling manager Nicci Lambert says.
“[They need to know] the difference between okay and not-okay secrets.”
September 7-13 marks National Child Protection Week (NCPW), a time when Ms Lambert’s message will seem especially poignant.
During that week Allambee Counselling will commemorate White Balloon Day, which raises awareness of child sexual abuse.
Ms Lambert, who oversees the centre’s support services for children and adults affected by sexual abuse and sexual assault, said Mandurah was no different to any other Australian community where one in five children will experience sexual abuse before they turn 18.
“What we know is the incidence is probably higher than what is reported because there is still a lot of sexual abuse that goes unreported for many different reasons,” she said.
“Put it this way, between the three services we offer - sexual abuse counselling for children, for adults and our domestic violence services - we are very busy and services are in high demand.”
Ms Lambert said the Mandurah centre saw more than 70 child and adult cases a week, a number that would be higher if the centre had more staff.
Allambee Counselling and other community services will work with the Department of Child Protection to coordinate a variety of events for NCPW in the Peel region, aimed at raising awareness of child protection in primary schools.
“The idea is that we’re targeting the younger children from pre-primary to grade one or two, promoting awareness of child protection,” she said.
“We’ll be visiting one school in Mandurah and one in Pinjarra, and in Waroona the Family Support Service will be inviting schools to the Community Resource Centre there.
“There will be lots of activities and information to take home focusing on ways to keep children safe from sexual abuse and to encourage children to tell someone if they feel unsafe, which ties in with concept of White Balloon Day.
“The best thing that everyone can do is to understand the importance of child protection and protective behaviours.
“That means [ensuring] their kids know what’s okay and what’s not okay and that they know they’ve got supportive adults they can talk to.”
To find out more about White Balloon Day or National Child Protection Week go to whiteballoonday.com.au or napcan.org.au/ncpw.
