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.

Child abuse and neglect is one of Australia’s most significant social problems. During 2017-18 over 32,000 Australian children were proven to have been abused or neglected.

Child abuse is rarely a one off incident and is always harmful.

Tens of thousands of children are psychologically and/or physically harmed each year or die from the impact of child abuse and neglect. Far too often that damage lasts a lifetime.

Free online events

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.

NAPCAN CEO, Richard Cooke

“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.”

Available webinars

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 Institute, 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.

Want more from Mama? Get the latest MamaMag fun straight to your inbox.

Follow MamaMag on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.