Media Kit

Media Alert – distributed 31 August 2020 

National Child Protection Week invites everyone in Australia to be part of the conversation

Putting Children First is the theme of National Child Protection Week which kicks off on Fathers’ Day, 6 September. 

The free online events are open to everyone. 

NAPCAN CEO, Richard Cooke, says, “The added stress on families due to the coronavirus pandemic means National Child Protection Week is more important than ever.” 

“Australia’s children need all of us to be playing our part in keeping them safe and well. 

“As many people as possible – not just ‘experts’ – need to be part of important conversations about putting children first. 

“The shift to mostly online webinars (due to social distancing restrictions) means we can bring these incredible speakers, including international speakers, to a much broader audience, which is really exciting.” 

During the week 6 – 12 September, there will be free webinars every day  featuring 30+ speakers, on topics such as: 

• Early childhood development
• Building stronger communities for children 
• Our roles in preventing child abuse
• What every neighbourhood needs in order for children to do well 
• Safe social media usage for children (including sessions for parents and virtual classroom events for teachers). 

The Governor-General, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd) and Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley will be kicking off the week in a live-streamed event. The launch will also feature a keynote presentation by Dr Richard Denniss, from the Australia Insititute, who will look at the big picture of preventing child abuse in Australia.

For more information, or to book, go to www.napcan.org.au. 

Note: If linking direct to page, go to https://www.napcan.org.au/official-program-webinars-events/

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

Media contact: Helen Fogarty, [email protected] 0410 541997 

For release: Sunday 6th September

Added stress of coronavirus means National Child Protection Week is more important than ever

In 2020 National Child Protection Week is celebrating its 30th year with the important theme Putting Children First.

NAPCAN – the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect – says that the added stress on families due to the coronavirus pandemic means that it’s more important than ever that we all play a part in protecting children.

NAPCAN Patron, Governor General Sir David Hurley is lending his support to the campaign and encouraging everyone in Australia to play their part in protecting children.

“The importance of the week is all about the protection of our children and prevention of abuse, particularly to bring that back to our attention. And secondly to remind us that as individuals, as families, as organisations, local government, government and the wider community we all have a part to play in this,” he said.

He pointed to four points that the community is asked to think about.

“One is taking time to listen to what children and young people have to say, the second is to be kind and supportive to parents, the third is to create a friendly and connected community, and the fourth, most importantly, is to speak up if you see something that doesn’t appear to be safe for a child and to do something about it.”

There are free webinars being held all week to participate in to learn more about National Child Protection Week. People can register on the NAPCAN site – napcan.org.au.

NAPCAN’s National Manager Prevention Strategy, Lesley Taylor said National Child Protection Week was an incredible opportunity to recognise and value the importance of children in our lives and in our community.

“Our theme is Putting children first. What could be more simple and more powerful than putting the needs and interests of children ahead of our own. We must ensure the safety and wellbeing of our children.

“Children no matter where they live, what part of Australia, whether it’s in a big city, regional or remote communities, they have the same right to feel safe, they have the same right to feel like they belong, that people care about them, and that they can have a say in all of those matters that impact on them. It doesn’t matter where you live, we can all play our part in putting children first.”

National Child Protection Week runs from 6 – 12 September and involves community events (online and offline) all around Australia.

A key part of the 2020 campaign will be a series of more than 15 free online webinars, which invite members of the public to join conversations about child wellbeing.

The Governor-General will officially launch National Child Protection Week at a public live-streamed event on Monday 8 September.

For more information visit www.napcan.org.au.

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

Media contact: Helen Fogarty, NAPCAN, [email protected] 0410 541997

Available NAPCAN spokespeople for interview

NAPCAN has a number of senior staff, experts, and board members who are available for interviews or comment on most topics relating to child wellbeing. Please contact Helen Fogarty on 0410 541997 or [email protected] to coordinate.

National Child Protection Week press release / pre-approved quotes

COMING SOON…

Background NAPCAN & National Child Protection Week

About NAPCAN & primary prevention

The National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN) advocates for the rights of children and young people. We know that the only way to keep children and young people safe from harm is to stop abuse before it occurs and prevent them from entering the statutory child protection system. We know that ‘primary prevention’ is the best option for children, for families, for communities, and for government budgets.

Primary prevention of child abuse is defined as any intervention that prevents child abuse from occurring, including strategies such as:

• building strong communities where everyone understands their role in protecting children
• valuing children and advocating for their rights, and for their voices to be heard
• expanding and improving coordination of social services
• supporting families
• educating families about child behavior, discipline, safety and development
• creating organisations that are child safe and child friendly.

NAPCAN makes a significant contribution to the wellbeing of Australia’s children and young people by raising the awareness of child abuse and neglect in Australia, and promoting and implementing effective prevention strategies and programs, including professional development and respectful relationships education.

National Child Protection Week – 30 years on

• National Child Protection Week 2020 runs from Sunday 6th – Saturday 12th September this year.
• National Child Protection Week has been running since 1990 starting on Fathers’ Day each September.
• The aim of the week is to engage all members of the community to ‘Play a Part’ in improving child wellbeing and keep children safe in Australia.
• NAPCAN coordinates National Child Protection Week with support from the federal government and a range of public, private and community partners.
• National Child Protection Week provides a platform to enhance the safety and wellbeing of children and young people, by informing, empowering and resourcing organisations and communities to play their part in responding to local needs.

Key Messages

• 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.