Saving Our Kids from sexual abuse and exploitation

For National Child Protection Week 2023, ICMEC Australia recognised the tireless work of all sectors of the response community in a content series released via LinkedIn that highlights a new book, Saving Our Kids, by award-winning journalist Madonna King. This book, featuring several of the ICMEC Australia team, is fast becoming essential reading for anyone who wants to better understand the dangers faced by children in their lives, and how we can better respond.

These five resources are a useful summary of this complex crime and how to work collaboratively, across industries, to protect children from abuse and exploitation.

Every child, in every community, deserves a fair go.

National Child Protection Week takes place in the first week of September in Australia. A NAPCAN initiative, this week reminds us that every child deserves a safe childhood – and that cross-industry collaboration is vital to this conclusion. 

Madonna King’s new book, ‘Saving Our Kids’ was written in collaboration with ICMEC Australia Board Member Jon Rouse APM, and emphasises the importance of a collaborative response to child sexual exploitation and saving children from harm. During 2023’s National Child Protection Week, ICMEC Australia created a series of resources that highlight this important book, our partners working to protect children from the horrible crime of sexual abuse and exploitation, and how we can all contribute to protecting children.

These resources are available for free download, and include:

1. What is Child Sexual Exploitation? 
2. What is Sextortion?
3. Cross-industry collaboration and ‘following the money’
4. Law enforcement’s critical role
5. The Victim-Survivor Voice

Every child deserves to grow up free from abuse and exploitation.

Using the right terminology when engaging in public discourse about child sexual abuse and exploitation

We all have a role to play when it comes to protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. As a response community, and a society in general, one of the easiest ways that we can contribute to creating better and safer outcomes for children is by using consistent and correct language.

The words that we use matter.

Whoever you are, we can work together to help make the world a safer place for children by supporting victim-survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation by engaging in meaningful public discourse with the appropriate terminology. The Luxembourg Guidelines ‘for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse’ were developed in 2016, and set a global standard for the correct language to use when discussing this heinous crime.

Using victim-centric, trauma-informed language helps create a safe environment for children to report abuse, and remove the stigma that has surrounded this crime for too long.

ICMEC Australia has created a summary of the Luxembourg Guidelines for reference on the right terminology to use when discussing this crime.