2025 Courageous Conversations

The second annual Courageous Conversations event brings together victim-survivors, practitioners, researchers and policy makers for impactful dialogue about the prevention and response to child sexual abuse.

This two-day symposium aims to drive action towards creating a safer and more supportive Tasmania for children, young people and victim-survivors.

Registration is free for victim-survivors.

Tickets for single day attendance and specific sessions will be released in early April.

This event is brought to you by Laurel House in partnership with SASS and with the support of the Tasmanian Government.

Program details (subject to change)

Session 1: Building Safety: Child safe cultures in organisations, systems and communities 
10am to 1pm on Monday, 28 April
Speakers include: Katrina Munting, Victim-survivor and Director of Leaves for Change, Kathrine Morgan-Wicks,  Secretary, Department of Premier and Cabinet and Head of the State Service, The Hon. Robert Benjamin AM SC, Child Safety Reform Implementation Monitor for Tasmania, Anne Hollonds, National Children's Commissioner, and LEAPY youth advisory council representatives.

Session 2: Confronting Reality: Responding to the rise of child sexual abuse between peers and siblings
1:30pm to 4:30pm on Monday, 28 April
Speakers include Deborah Aldrick, Author, Survivor Advocate and Lived Experience Speaker, Prof Daryl Higgins, Director, Institute of Child Protection Studies (ICPS), Australian Catholic University, LEAPY youth advisory council representatives, Rachel Lever, Lecturer in Criminology, Flinders University, and Assoc Prof Danielle Harris, Deputy Director, Griffith Criminology Institute.

Session 3: Interrupting Harm: Understanding perpetration, prevention and intervention
10am to 1pm on Tuesday, 29 April
Speakers include: Assoc Prof Danielle Harris, Deputy Director, Griffith Criminology Institute, Sam Leishman, Victim-survivor and advocate, Natalie Walker, Founder, PartnerSPEAK, and Prof Daryl Higgins, Director, Institute of Child Protection Studies (ICPS), Australian Catholic University.

Session 4: Breaking the Silence: Tackling the intersection of family and sexual violence and child sexual abuse
1:30pm to 4:30pm on Tuesday, 29 April
Speakers include:

Azra Beach, Victim-survivor and advocate,  Prof Patrick O'Leary, Chief Investigator, The ARC Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (CEVAW) and representatives of the Tasmanian Family and Sexual Violence Alliance. Prof Kyllie Cripps, Director of Monash’s Indigenous Studies Centre and one of Australia’s leading researchers on Indigenous family violence, sexual assault and child abuse, will join our Session 4 program online.