It’s National Child Protection Week! A week dedicated to ‘putting children first’ and recognising that it takes a community to make sure all our children and young people have the tools, resources and spaces to grow and thrive.
Globally, it is estimated that one out of two children aged 2–17 years experience some form of violence each year. In Australia, 13% of children experience physical or sexual abuse before the age of 15. This number does not include the children and young people who have watched, listened and experienced the presence of violence in their home. This is not good enough.
What these numbers indicate is that over 13% of Australian young people are entering the community already affected by violence. Unfortunately, like many of the issues in our community, child abuse is a gendered issue with our girls and young women being overwhelmingly more at risk.
At WAGEC we have always been committed to creating safe spaces for women and their families. We know first-hand, that many women are ultimately motivated to leave a violence situation at home for the safety and sake of their children, even when this creates an uncertainty about where they will live or who they can turn to. WAGEC has always supported women so that they in turn can continue to provide support their children.
In the past year, thanks to a grant from Impact100 Sydney North and donations from generous people like you, we were able to focus more attention on our children and young people through our SEED Program. SEED is a specialised program that identifies the social, emotional, educational and developmental needs of kids whose lives have been impacted by homelessness and domestic and family violence.
This week we are asking you to share this message about Child Protection Week to a friend or family member.
We are asking you to donate so that more children and young people have access to the support and resources they need to grow, learn and thrive.
For a country where the majority of our kids grow up safe, stable and healthy environments, 13% is not good enough.
References
Global Status Report on Preventing Violence Against Children 2020
Australia Human Rights Commission report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child 2018
