Media Kit

NAPCAN spokespeople available for interview

NAPCAN has several senior staff, experts, and board members who are available for interviews or comment on most topics relating to child wellbeing. Please contact Clare Walker at 0420 507 376 or clare.walker@napcan.org.au to coordinate

MEDIA RELEASE – September 2024

Conversation is at the heart of this National Child Protection Week

Child Protection Week starts on the 1st September with the clear message that ‘every conversation matters’ 

Organised by the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN), Child Protection Week is a time to engage all Australians to ‘Play a Part’ in improving child well-being and keeping children safe in Australia. 

The week will be launched with guest speaker, Children’s Commissioner, Anne Hollonds:

“Every conversation matters at every level, including nationally across our federation. It’s time we asked: Why is child safety and wellbeing not a priority for National Cabinet and how can we change that?”

To focus on creating better futures for children and young people, NAPCAN has put the theme ‘every conversation matters’ at the week’s core. Conversations are a crucial practice in preventing child abuse and neglect before it starts.

NAPCAN CEO Leesa Waters, says conversations help to create safer, healthier communities:

“By promoting dialogue within communities, between children and caregivers, and in the media, we create safer environments, give children a voice and help them connect with their culture and community.”

NAPCAN is facilitating conversation this Child Protection Week with their free webinar series, where experts will explore areas such as digital safety and intergenerational solidarity.

Oliver White, chair of NAPCAN’s Youth Speak Out Council, hopes people who engage with Child Protection Week take the message and put it into action:

“We’re calling all Australians to start a new conversation that models empathy and understanding. That could be checking in with a young person in your life, or writing a letter to your local politician asking them what they are doing to create better futures for children.”

Leesa Waters says discussions at a national level are additionally needed:  

“We need to seize opportunities to have these conversations at a community level but also broader conversations that hold policy makers accountable, ensuring they consider not only tertiary responses but also preventative solutions and putting meaningful funding in this area.”

“Prevention is our goal, prevention is possible, and we want it to be treated as a national priority.”

“This means we have to open a broader conversation about Child Abuse and Neglect with not only our Government, but also with the Media.”

NAPCAN will launch new media guidelines for reporting on children and young people at Parliament House, Canberra, following National Child Protection Week.

“Research shows that media significantly influences policy in Australia, so how children and survivors of abuse are portrayed is crucial.”

………..

National Child Protection Week runs from 1 – 7 September and invites ALL Australians to come together and work towards giving every child, in every community, a fair go at a safe and happy future. 

The week will be launched with special guest National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds via a live streamed event at 10am on Monday 2 September. Register for the launch and free online webinars at https://www.napcan.org.au/final-official-program-webinars-events-2024/ 

Go to our website to learn more about NAPCAN’s work and how you can get involved in Child Protection Week: https://www.napcan.org.au/get-involved-2024/ 

NAPCAN is the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect and coordinates National Child Protection Week annually with support from the Department of Social Services and many organisations and individuals across Australia. 

ENDS

Media contact: Clare Walker, NAPCAN, clare.walker@napcan.org.au 0420 507 376

Key Messages

• Every child, in every community, needs a fair go. To treat all of Australia’s children fairly, we need to make sure every family and community has what kids need to thrive and be healthy. 
• Children can thrive and be healthy when they have what they need to develop well. But not every family has these resources.
• This is why we need to support every child, family and community according to their needs. This will create a healthier, fairer Australia for all children.
• Let’s make sure our neighbourhoods have strong foundations for families and children – jobs, safe places, libraries, parks, playgrounds, schools, child care, affordable housing, health services, social activities, clubs, friendly neighbours, businesses and more.
• To raise thriving children, Australian parents need support.
• Children thrive when parents have the support they need.
• For healthy development, children need life to be on an even keel. But for families experience poverty and stress, raising children is like sailing in rough waters. Helping parents with counselling, quality child care and financial support makes sure that they have the lighthouses and safe harbours that they need to navigate these rough waters.
• To develop in healthy and positive ways, children need life to be stable, even when families face rough times. Just as a strong skipper learns to be adaptable and to seek help when they need it, we can help parents to navigate life’s storms.
• Raising thriving healthy children is all-important and building young brains takes work. Parents need support to help children develop the skills they need.
• Raising thriving children is like building a house from the foundations up. When they interact with their children, parents are building brains. We need better policies to support parents to help children to learn and grow from the earliest days onwards.
• Australia’s children thrive when our policies and programs support parents. We need to help all children develop healthily, especially when families experience tough times.