‘Tremendous step’: National ad campaign to tackle child sexual abuse

A Landmark National Ad Campaign to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse

Introduction

A landmark national ad campaign aimed at encouraging adults to have sensitive conversations with young people about child sexual abuse will hit TV screens and social media from Sunday night, in what advocates say is a critical step in raising awareness.

The ‘One Talk at a Time’ Campaign

The ‘One Talk at a Time’ campaign features three scenarios of adults gently raising the topic with children, as a way of proactively identifying behaviors such as unwanted touching, inappropriate talk, or solicitation of photos as something that is not OK, even if it comes from family or friends.

Government Initiative

The federal government is spending $22.4 million on the initiative, which it says is the first national campaign of its kind aimed at preventing child sexual abuse. It will run in mainstream media and online platforms until mid-2024.

Support from Child Safety Advocates

Child safety campaigner Bruce Morcombe, who with wife Denise established the Daniel Morcombe Foundation after their son was abducted and murdered in 2003, said the move was a “tremendous step forward” in developing national policy to protect children.

National Standards for Child Safety

“Denise and I have, for the best part of two decades as child safety advocates, been pushing state-by-state and federally the message that we need national standards – key messaging that is standardized right across the country. This is the first step forward in allowing that to happen,” he said.

Powerful and Poignant Messaging

Longtime child protection advocate Hetty Johnston said the campaign was powerful and poignant, likening the messaging to a “sledgehammer covered in a feather duster”.

“We need to have this conversation and yet it’s such a difficult message to get across without triggering and upsetting people. I think they’ve found the line just exquisitely,” she said. “It is saying to all our survivors everywhere, we should have listened to you, and we need to listen now.”

Early Introduction of Sexual Harm Prevention

Bravehearts chief executive Alison Geale said the prevention of sexual harm was something that should be introduced into discussions with children from an early age.

“There is still an element of shame and stigma attached [to child sexual abuse] and an element of this won’t happen in my family, or this happens in other families,” she said.

Collaboration and Research

The Morcombes and Bravehearts are part of an advisory group of advocates and experts, coordinated by National Office of Child Safety and co-chaired by Johnston, who was consulted during the development of the campaign.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the campaign was underpinned by significant research and testing and delivered on measures in the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021-2030 and the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Conclusion

“I am particularly proud this campaign has received support from victims and survivors, their advocates and child safety experts, many of whom worked with the Australian government to inform the development of the campaign,” Dreyfus said.