Challenge 2 and 3 in Here for Change, the National Centre’s Five Year Strategy, highlight that children and young people with experiences of child sexual abuse are often not identified, protected or well supported when they raise concerns or disclose, and when they do, they experience disbelief and stigma.

Moderated by National Centre CEO Dr Leanne Beagley, this In Conversation webinar brings together brings together lived experience, research and practice experts to explore how disclosures of child sexual abuse occur for children and young people. The panel will discuss the importance of trauma informed responses so that victims and survivors are believed and supported to heal and recover.

The conversation will unpack:

how disclosures occur - what they look like for children and young people, including what factors shape the process of disclosure
what some of the barriers are that exist to children and young people telling their story
what children and young people need from adults when they disclose

Time: 1pm-2.30pm AEST (2pm-3.30pm AEDT)

Where: Online

Please note this webinar will be recorded.

Featuring a live Q&A session with the speakers, all are welcome.

Speakers

Noel Macnamara is the Deputy Director of the Centre for Excellence, and the Executive Manager of Policy, Research, and advocacy at the Australian Childhood Foundation. His background is as a social worker, and he has worked in the areas of children, families, leadership, organisations, and sexual abuse and trauma for nearly 40 years. Noel has conducted seminars, workshops, spoken at conferences and guest lectured in Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia for the past 25 years. He is engaged extensively in training, supervision, coaching and management consulting. Noel has authored a book and many chapters, and he has written many articles and other publications in the areas of violence, child abuse, trauma, recovery, the impact of secondary trauma/vicarious trauma on staff and carers and supervision and leadership. Noel received the Robin Clark Award for Inspirational Leadership (Victoria). This award recognises an individual at any level of leadership who inspires others to act wisely and care deeply about achieving the best outcomes for children, young people and their families.

Amanda Morgan is a Yorta Yorta woman living on Darug country. Amanda is a child sexual abuse survivor advocate, activist, speaker and writer. Amanda is the founder of Make A Seat Australia and a 2022 Churchill recipient who will travel to the United States, Canada, England, Scotland and New Zealand to investigate trauma-informed approaches to legal processes for historically underserved survivors. Amanda is an advisor to the National Strategy Advisory group and the National Office for Child Safety, the Policy and Advocacy Advisory group at the National Women’s Safety Alliance, a member of the Survivor-led Adult College at the National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse, and a Board Director at March4Justice (Australia). Amanda has written for the Sydney Morning Herald and Refinery29 Australia, and has been featured by BBC UK, Primer Magazine, Its Time We Talked, The Law Society of NSW Journal, the All About Women Festival at the Opera House and Australia's Biggest Child Safety Lesson (2023) with the Daniel Morcombe Foundation. Amanda holds a Bachelor of Law and a Bachelor of Psychology and will commence a PhD in law on July 2024.

Professor Patrick O’Leary is an internationally recognised researcher on domestic violence, gender-based violence and child protection. He is currently an academic member of the Griffith Criminology Institute and is Co-Lead of the Disrupting Violence Beacon and Director of Violence Research and Prevention Program (VRPP) at Griffith University. Professor O’Leary has worked with UNICEF, Terre des hommes and Islamic Relief Worldwide, and was commissioned as an Expert Academic Advisor to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Professor O’Leary serves on numerous boards and advisory positions in the government and non-government sectors, including being on the Advisory Group for the National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse for the Australian Government. Most recently he was a member of the Queensland Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce.

Toni Cash is a Social Worker who graduated from University of Queensland in 1986. She has worked for over 35 years in the area of child and family welfare primarily in statutory child protection and has extensive experience in working with child sexual abuse and exploitation of children and young people. Her current role is at yourtown where she is the Principal Advisor – Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation. Toni has worked in both government and non government child protection sectors and in managing therapeutic residential care services. She has a passion for integrated partnerships and how to genuinely partner with children and young people and their families and communities and is passionate about building capacity in the sector.

Moderator

Dr Leanne Beagley is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse. She has clinical, leadership and legal qualifications and 15 years of clinical experience in child and family mental health services, with subsequent experience as a senior leader within health, mental health and primary care settings. She has undertaken policy leadership within government and policy advocacy from within the sector.

About the In Conversation series

Hosted by the National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse (the National Centre), our In Conversation series brings together experts from research, law, policy and practice to explore how we can work together to reduce, eliminate and respond to child sexual abuse so that victims and survivors are believed and supported to heal and recover.

About the National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse

The National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse (the National Centre) is a partnership between three respected organisations — the Australian Childhood Foundation, Blue Knot Foundation and the Healing Foundation. Established in late 2021, following a recommendation by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, the National Centre commissions critical research, builds the capability of workers and organisations and raises community awareness to reduce stigma. Central to this work is elevating the voices of victims and survivors of all ages, life stages and communities

Contact the host of Understanding and responding to disclosures of child sexual abuse from children and young people.