Every conversation matters during this National Child Protection Week

As part of National Child Protection Week 2024, AFP is launching a series of press releases focused on child protection. The releases will include crime trends, profiles of operational areas working to keep children safe, and tips for parents and caregivers to protect children online.

Each year, National Child Protection Week aims to promote a safe and supported life for every child, now and in the future. This year’s theme is ‘Every Conversation Counts’.

The theme is intended to encourage the community to participate in important conversations about child protection, promote the importance of conversations for child safety, and inform and equip parents and caregivers with the tools to help children navigate the online world safely.

The press releases highlight the worrying increase in reports of child sexual exploitation and abuse to the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE), the vital work of the Victim Identification Unit, and the ongoing threat of sextortion against young Australians, among other child protection issues facing the community.

Some press releases include a link that you can use on radio and TV, and images for publication.

For media interviews, please email: [email protected].

For more information about National Child Protection Week and how to get involved, visit the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect website.

The AFP and its partners are committed to ending child exploitation and abuse and the ACCCE encourages a joint national approach to combating child abuse.

The ACCCE brings together specialist expertise and skills in a central hub, supports investigations into online child sexual exploitation and develops prevention strategies aimed at creating a safer online environment.

Members of the public who have information about people involved in child abuse are urged to contact the ACCCE. If you know of any current abuse or a child at risk, call the police immediately on 000.

If you or someone you know is experiencing child sexual abuse and online exploitation, there is support available.

Research conducted by the ACCCE in 2020 revealed that only around half of parents talked to their children about online safety. Advice and support for parents and carers on how to help protect children online can be found on the ThinkUKnow website, an AFP-led educational programme designed to prevent child sexual exploitation online.

For more information about the role of the ACCCE, what online child sexual exploitation is and how to report it, please visit the ACCCE website.

Note to the media

Use of the term ‘CHILD ABUSE’ MATERIAL and not ‘CHILD PORNOGRAPHY’

The correct legal term is ‘child abuse material’. The move to this wording was one of a series of changes to Commonwealth law in 2019 to more accurately reflect the seriousness of the crimes and the harm caused to victims.

The use of the term “child pornography” is incorrect and benefits child abusers because it:

• • • indicates legitimacy and cooperation on the part of the victim and therefore legality on the part of the abuser; and
    • conjures up images of children posing in ‘provocative’ poses, rather than being horribly abused.

Each photo or video captures an actual situation in which a child has been abused.