Introduction to Child Protection

Over the past 15 years there has been an increased awareness of the range of abuse and risk situations which children and young people face. Initially the focus of child abuse prevention programs may have been perceived to be child sexual abuse (Laws, 1992). In NSW this focus coincided with the Child Care and Protection Act (1987) which mandated teachers as notifiers of child sexual abuse. The focus at that time in 1987 was on the requirements on teachers to identify and notify sexual abuse. This was followed by child protection materials, developed in 1988 by government and non-government groups that focused on the empowering of children to take action in sexually abusive situations. In the following ten-year period key elements of child abuse prevention programs were included in the PD/H/PE KLA and curriculum support material.

More recently legislation in 1998 has extended the forms of abuse for which teachers are mandated to report, to include physical, psychological, neglect and domestic violence. This legislative reform has also changed the expectations of employers and employees working in child-related employment.

Further, during 2003, a National Safe Schools Framework was developed to assist all school communities in building safe and supportive schools where

• “bullying, harassment and violence are minimized; and
• students receive support on issues related to child abuse and neglect” (pg.4)

This overview places prevention programs and the legislative reform package within a context of prevention. In particular the overview will address the following areas:

 Risk Factors
 Schools as Safe Places /Levels of Prevention
 Protective Factors

Author: Dr Marea Nicholson

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