News

Season’s greetings

13 December

Wishing you a joyous and peaceful festive season.

News

Study finds risk and protective factors for sibling sexual abus...

26 November

A new ACU study has found sibling sexual abuse is most often demonstrated by male siblings with a history of maltreatment or a learning disability.

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Join our team

14 October

We are excited to be offering two new positions based in Canberra: Research Fellow/Senior Research Fellow and Research Associate.

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Celebrating the relaunch of Children Australia journal

4 October

We are delighted to have contributed to the newly published revitalised journal for child, youth and family services.

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Are you ready to embark on a PhD?

30 September

If your research passion is in child wellbeing and prevention of abuse, neglect and maltreatment, the Institute of Child Protection Studies could supervise your studies...

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National Child Protection Week - a time for conversations

9 September

This year's theme "Every conversation matters" reminds us how important it is to listen and to believe children and young people when they have concerns.

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ICPS wins Queensland Child Protection Week Award

4 September

Professor Daryl Higgins and the team behind the landmark Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS) who have won a Queensland Child Protection Week Award.

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Study reveals prevalence of child sexual abuse in religious set...

5 August

One in 250 Australians were sexually abused during childhood by a leader or other adult in a religious organisation, new research led by ACU shows.

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New modules help adults have tough conversations with young peo...

3 July

The Tuned In modules provide practical guidance on how to make group settings safe for young people to talk about sensitive issues.

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What can we learn from religious leaders and safeguarding pract...

1 July

We are inviting religious leaders to share their experiences on child safeguarding practices. Insights into policies and practices and where efforts are still needed wi...

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The challenges and rewards of living with a sibling with autism...

14 June

How does autism affect the sibling relationship in families with an autistic adolescent family member?

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What can adults do to prevent fake AI nudes of children?

13 June

Revelations that a student shared fake nudes of 50 schoolgirls using AI generated photos has raised a thorny issue. This places greater duress on parents and schools on...

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Too much reliance on stamping out “bad apples”

21 May

Preventing child sexual abuse can be tackled in many ways. We are familiar with pre-employment screening and Working with Children Checks. But these steps alone are not...

News

Journey to safeguard children ongoing in Catholic Church – stud...

29 April

Lay members of the Catholic Church have scored lowest on a range of child safeguarding measures compared with those holding other roles, new ACU-led global research sho...

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One in 10 Australians sexually harassed by peers – research

12 April

One in 10 Australians has been sexually harassed by a peer during their childhood, new ACU-led research shows.

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Webinar: What makes a good measure?

21 March

Practitioners and researchers have so many measures to choose from - it can be difficult to understand where to start or what to use. Come to our webinar to learn more ...

News

Are you ready to embark on a PhD?

29 February

If your research passion is in child wellbeing and prevention of abuse, neglect and maltreatment, the Institute of Child Protection Studies could supervise your studies...

News

Mental health of children in out-of-home care

27 February

Connecting kids in care to mental health services matters. Your experience in supporting children and young people in out-of-home care can help us learn more. If you ca...

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Children with autism made to feel different

5 February

Families of children with autism told ACU researcher Dr Sebastian Trew of the Institute of Child Protection Studies that the school environment negatively influenced th...

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Advice for youth exhibiting problematic sexual behaviours

1 February

With school students returning to the classroom, ACU Institute of Child Protection Studies Director Professor Daryl Higgins and ICPS Research Officer Gabrielle Hunt hav...

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Research reveals prevalence of gender and sexuality diverse Aus...

23 January

Australians with diverse sexualities or genders are three times more likely to experience child maltreatment than heterosexual Australians, or cisgendered males, new AC...

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Welcome Dr Mary Ann Powell

23 January

A warm welcome to Dr Mary Ann Powell, joining us as Senior Research Fellow.

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New study identifies factors associated with child maltreatment...

15 January

New ACU research has identified a complex interplay of child, parental, and contextual factors associated with the maltreatment of children by their families.

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Drivers that link family violence and child maltreatment

20 December

In a RESPECT Victoria project on drivers of men's violence against women, we examined a range of factors to understand why child maltreatment occurs.

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Pandemic stress not over for asylum seekers and refugees

19 December

ACU study of asylum seekers and refugees in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic found that their experiences intensified domestic partner violence and financial stre...

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Season's greetings

15 December

Season’s greetings from all of us at the Institute of Child Protection Studies. All the very best for a merry festive season and happy new year. We will be open till 22...

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Physical punishment a common form of violence against children...

12 December

Smacking and physical punishment of children in Australia have been highlighted in a national study. A survey of 8500 people has revealed that almost 6 in 10 young peop...

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ACU expert examines prevalence of interpersonal violence

29 November

The Director of ACU's Institute of Child Protection Studies, Professor Daryl Higgins, has examined a new Government website designed to provide a comprehensive picture ...

News

Our response to referendum

16 October

ICPS acknowledges the suffering and sorrow of so many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples following the result of Saturday's referendum.

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Tasmanian Commission of Inquiry findings highlight need for bet...

28 September

Systemic failures identified by the Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government’s Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings must be addressed to...

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Research Fellow job vacancy

21 September

Passionate about children and young people and their safety? Join our team of child and youth focused researchers who are looking for someone to make a difference.

News

We support a Voice to Parliament

18 August

A Voice to Parliament will give First Nations peoples a greater say on the laws, policies and services that affect families and children. It will provide a national pla...

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Working with Children checks is not enough

11 August

Relying only on Working with Children checks is wiping our hands clean of responsibility.

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Trauma-informed education

19 July

Workers can play an important role in educating children and young people about respectful relationships.

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Youth less likely to raise alarm in unsafe situations involving...

6 June

Children and young people are more likely to tell someone if an adult rather than a peer is making them feel unsafe, new Australian Catholic University research shows.

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Evidence-based paper calls for corporal punishment ban

3 May

Corporal punishment should be prohibited nationally and supported by a public education campaign and greater access to parental supports, according to a new research pa...

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Australian children suffering multiple types of abuse and negle...

3 April

Australian-first research into the prevalence of childhood maltreatment has revealed almost two-thirds of children who experience any child abuse or neglect have been s...

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Paramedics need support to help safeguard children at risk of a...

2 February

Paramedics are an underutilised resource when it comes to safeguarding children in the home, according to a new study highlighting the need to improve paramedics’ abili...

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Too many kids dying

1 January

Too many vulnerable young people known to child protection authorities are dying.

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Royal Commission anniversary

13 December

Royal Commission anniversary highlights need to also safeguard children in non-institutional family settings

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Parents’ child protection experiences revealed in new study

30 November

New ACU research has given a rare voice to parents who become involved with child protection authorities during pregnancy or via infant removal.

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ICPS - Call for abstracts

30 September

We welcome your submission to present at an international congress on parenting and family intervention.

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Youth voices key to safety in faith-based settings

12 September

ACU research has identified four key themes to address to make youth feel safe in faith-based groups.

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ICPS Staff news

10 September

Sharing achievements of our dedicated and talented staff.

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End physical punishment of children

9 September

We are part of a national campaign that aims to reform Australia’s current legislation, and give parents access to alternative evidence-based parenting strategies.

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Australian Child Maltreatment Study findings

8 September

Early findings from study show the significant negative impact of child abuse and neglect on people's lives.

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ACU researchers win over $2 million in grants

17 January

ACU researchers have been awarded more than $2 million in Australian Research Council grants.

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New research centres

20 April

Seven new research centres will enhance ACU’s reputation in the arts, education, health, and theology and philosophy.

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In conversation with Kevin Rudd and Greg Craven

22 February

Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Craven launched the Institute of Religion Politics and Society’s leadership series with a dialogue a...

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Ritual, belief and habituation - Religion and religions from th...

1 February

Ritual, belief and habituation: Religion and religions from the axial age to the Anthropocene

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Socrel News Issue 5 (2017) Interview - Prof Bryan Turner

1 February

Given the plurality of readings of the secularisation thesis, please could you give us a summary of your own take on our sub-discipline’s paradigmatic theory?

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By framing secular society as a Christian creation, Hanson’s re...

7 December

This article is part of the Democracy Futures series, a joint global initiative with the Sydney Democracy Network. The project aims to stimulate fresh thinking about th...

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New research paper on manufacturing

27 October

Prepared by Parliamentary Library Fellow Dr Tom Barnes and a research team from the Australian Catholic University, the research paper, titled ‘Transition to where?’, i...

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Reproducing Citizens: family, state and civil society

9 March

This volume takes up the challenge posed by Bryan Turner, when he noted “the absence of any systematic thinking about familial relations, reproduction and citizenship” ...

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Interview with the winners of the Sociological Review prize for...

1 March

We announced last month that Bryan S. Turner and Berna Zengin Arslan were the winners of the 2014 Sociological Review Prize for Outstanding Scholarship for their articl...

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ERA success for ACU

4 December

ACU researchers are celebrating after a strong performance in the 2015 Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) assessment. The performance affirms ACU’s rapidly risi...

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ISIS goes global

30 November

Following the tragic terror attacks in Paris, the world turns its attention to the organisation behind the carnage. Do we now need to rethink our approach toward ISIS,...

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Love in a time of terror: can we break the cycle?

30 November

The terrorist attacks in Paris and Beirut have elicited a disturbingly predictable series of responses. We’ve witnessed the usual political posturing, harsh military r...

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Professors Hans Joas and Bryan S. Turner receive the Max Planck...

16 July

The Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation and the Max Planck Society honour Hans Joas and Bryan S. Turner for their research.

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Detroit: What Lessons for Victoria from a ‘Post-Industrial’ Cit...

Based on recent research in Detroit, including multiple interviews with its civic, business and political leaders, this is one of the first reports to document these co...

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Physical punishment of children needs to end

Children who are physically abused have a high likelihood of being adversely affected into adulthood.