Regan was stopped in the park by a man who recognised her. His reason was chilling

As *Regan went for her usual stroll through her local park, she was being watched by a man in his 60s who was holding a dog leash.

As the cheerful, reddish-brown-haired dog approached Regan, she instinctively looked up at its owner.

Regan is a child abuse survivor.Credit: Eddie Jim

“Then he got closer to me, and he was just staring and staring at my face,” she said.

“And then he said that nickname.”

That “nickname” brought back unbearable childhood memories.

It was the name uttered by the many family members and friends who sexually abused Regan from as early as she could remember until she ran away from home at age 14.

The abuse was photographed and recorded inside her Melbourne family home. It was eventually released onto the internet.

Regan was abused by family members and friends from a young age. Generic photoCredit: Louise Kennerley

Decades on, Regan is fighting for tech companies to remove all traces of child abuse material on their platforms.

The 51-year-old is working with International Justice Mission Australia to push for strengthened online regulations. She is due to share her story at Parliament House on Monday, at an event led by the anti-slavery organisation working to prevent the exploitation of women and children.

IJM Australia is calling for the new Digital Duty Of Care laws – recently unveiled by Communications Minister Michelle Rowland as part of the wider overhaul of the Online Safety Act – to include preventing the sexual exploitation of children.

Under the new laws, online platforms would be legally obliged to have measures in place to prevent foreseeable harms as opposed to only reacting to them.

IJM Australia chief executive David Braga said tech companies should conduct child safety risk assessments on how their platforms could be misused by criminals.

“We’re talking about the largest technology companies on the planet,” Braga said.

“They’ve got the people to do it. They’ve got the money to do it. We think they’ve got the moral obligation to do it.”

Braga wanted higher penalties for tech giants who don’t comply with safety regulations and for the Online Safety Act – set to be brought before parliament next year – to cover device manufacturers and operating system providers.

“If it’s dealt with on the device, it would be like an airport X-ray machine where your image is never actually stored and recorded, it’s just dealt with in the moment and that’s it.”

Growing up, Regan thought what happened to her was normal. She remembered being abused by people she trusted, seeing handheld cameras and people “ordering” specific acts of abuse.

As she entered her teenage years, she began to realise something wasn’t right. When she ran away, she lived on the streets before being made a ward of the state.

“Even when I made the decision to leave home or run away, I wanted to make the world a better place for other people,” she said.

“I never wanted anyone to have to go through what I went through or to feel the way I felt.”

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

While constantly living with what happened to her, she tried to put it in the past.

That was until a police officer contacted her to say they had discovered videos and photos of her in the possession of a stranger, who found them on the internet.

She was devastated, but also relieved someone finally believed what she went through.

The true scale of how many paedophiles had viewed the material sunk in several years ago when a man on a train called out the nickname she thought she would never hear again.

Regan was sitting several seats away from him on the busy carriage when she heard the word and froze.

Just six weeks ago, it happened again in the park. Regan knows her face resembles her childhood self but was still shocked to be recognised twice.

“It just shows that what is in the past is never in the past, because it’s always out there, she said.

“You have people coming and approaching you, so you can never get to leave things behind or try and find a way to incorporate them into your life as past experiences. They’re always present and living experiences.”

The repercussions of these crimes affect Regan daily due to “a lifetime of weariness and tiredness” from wondering when the next person will recognise her.

“There are thoughts of who is watching me, is anywhere safe,” she said.

“It’s that constant dialogue that affects everything that I do ... I’ve described it as putting on your armour, and some days it is just too heavy.”

Regan said children’s safety should be put before company profits.

“We’re not just faceless, nameless people. Every single image and photo and video is of the worst stuff happening to us, just available for anybody to see. It has to stop.”

*Regan is not her real name

If you or someone you know is experiencing sexual abuse or family violence contact: National Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence Counselling Service 24-hour helpline 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.