National campaign to teach children to speak up about abuse

Australia’s first national campaign to teach children to speak up if they think something is wrong will launch on Sunday, coinciding with the fifth anniversary of the national apology to victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.

Australia’s first national campaign to teach children to speak up if they think something is wrong will launch today, to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the national apology to victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.

The $22.4 million campaign titled One Talk At A Time features a series of ads in which parents, grandparents and siblings initiate conversations with children and warn them of potential dangers of different forms of child sexual abuse — and reassure them they should ­always speak out if they are ­uncomfortable.

The ads switch between footage of the actors having the conversations and animated versions of themselves, which are designed to give a non-specific air of danger.

Tom Hoskins, creative director of the agency BMF advertising that created the campaign, said it had been “heavily researched” and the use of animation was a “delicate way” of being able to show an element of risk.

“We had to be careful not to create anything that’s triggering,” he said.

Part of the federal government’s campaign to combat child abuse, one of outcomes of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse.

Using animation gave the power to “allude to the threat but importantly show the power of the word which is able dissipate that threat”.

The campaign, which will run across all forms of electronic media until mid-next year, is part of the national strategy to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse and an outcome of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

The campaign ads switch between footage of actors having the conversations and animated versions of themselves.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the government was committed to supporting victims and survivors as well as preventing and responding to child sexual abuse.

“I am particularly proud this campaign has received support from victims and survivors, their advocates and child safety experts, many of whom worked with the Australian government to inform the development of the campaign,” he said.

“This campaign honours the work and strength of the victims and survivors who advocate for change each day, sometimes at a great personal cost.”

Sunday also marks the fifth anniversary of the 2018 national apology to victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse.

In a statement released to mark the anniversary, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Royal Commission had broken the silence surrounding institutional child sexual abuse and the national apology marked the end of one era and the beginning of a more hopeful one.

“Five years ago, the government apologised on behalf of Australians for the appalling institutional abuse experienced by children and young people, and our failure to protect them,” he said.

“We acknowledge the fifth anniversary of the apology and reaffirm the commitment to establish a world in which our children and young people are safe, and victims and survivors receive the support they deserve.”

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