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Professor Daryl Higgins, Douglas Russell (Institute of Child Protection Studies, Australian Catholic University); Dr Nadine McKillop, Dr Susan Rayment-McHugh (University of the Sunshine Coast, School of Law and Society, Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit)
Westpac Banking Corporation, 2021 Safer Children, Safer Communities Research Grant $150,000
This project aimed to develop new approaches to tackle the problem of child abuse and child sexual abuse. It specifically aimed to identify a range of contextual (environmental and situational) prevention strategies to roll out in a randomised control trial across a range of organisations with diverse service delivery models.
Protecting children from abuse is a complex process. To do it effectively, we need to know what practices are working in order to strengthen how organisations safeguard children from abuse.
The Institute of Child Protection Studies and the Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit at the University of the Sunshine Coast partnered with national not-for-profit organisations to conduct research to understand and evaluate what works to prevent child abuse.
Methods included an applied, mixed method approach, using quantitative and qualitative impact measures. These were implemented in large, diverse child welfare organisations to ensure immediate benefits to the participating organisations. We supported participating organisations in their implementation of the proposed strategies, ensuring intervention fidelity.
This project assessed the following elements of contextual prevention strategies:
Contextual prevention strategies
Contextual analysis helps us understand the factors that enable child sexual abuse to occur in organisations rather than just 'weeding out' potential offenders.
Examining the context enabled us to better understand characteristics of the children an organisation serves, the physical environment and routine activities of the organisation, and its policies and overall culture. The strategies used to promote safety and address risks vary from context to context and can range from extended guardianship programs to the redesign of physical spaces to maximise supervision.
We evaluated current contextual prevention strategies implemented by youth-serving social-welfare organisations using the Children's Safety and Safeguarding Capabilities Survey.
We held a symposium on Tuesday 21 May 2024: How do contextual prevention strategies prevent child sexual abuse? The event brought together many people from around the globe who engaged in critical discussions about the importance of contextual strategies in preventing child sexual abuse.
Here are links to a recording of the symposium, as well as a handout with examples of practical suggestions, and a PDF of the presentation notes:
Please feel free to contact us to discuss your thoughts and your own work on contextual prevention.
Findings from this project could be used to inform national policy and strengthen child-safe organisational practices. Ideally, the trialled contextual prevention strategies could be scaled-up nationally so that organisations can be safer for all. The following activities may play a role in informing policy:
Rayment-McHugh, S., McKillop, N., Adams, D., Higgins, D. J., Russell, D. H. (2024). Context matters: Conceptualising and operationalising the contextual prevention of child sexual abuse. Child Abuse Review. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/car.2859
Institute of Child Protection Studies (Australian Catholic University), and Sexual Violence Research & Prevention Unit (University of the Sunshine Coast). (2024, May 21). Advancing organisational child-safe practices using contextual prevention strategies [Video]. YouTube. ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzniWMqfinEProject time line
Completed 2024
For more information contact: icps@acu.edu.au
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