A message from the Mayor - NAPCAN Week
Published on 07 September 2015
Yesterday marked the beginning of National Child Protection Week in Australia and I think it’s important that as a community, we take a stand and work together to promote the safety and wellbeing of our local children and young people.
The National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN) is an important organisation who advocate for child safety and who promote research into child abuse prevention. Now in its 25th year, National Child Protection Week is coordinated by NAPCAN and aims to continually educate everyone about the importance of stamping out child abuse in Australia.
The statistics from NAPCAN are shocking to say the least. In 2015 the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reported more than 40,000 Australian children were abused or neglected during 2013-14.
Our own study, The State of Mildura Rural City’s Children and Young People 2014, showed the Mildura Local Government Area having a decreasing, but still higher than the Victorian state average, number of substantiated child abuse incidents.
National Child Protection Week invites all Australians to play their part to promote the safety and wellbeing of children and young people, and I think as a regional community, this is a message we really need to take to heart. We can be the catalysts for change locally.
It’s the small things every one of us can do that will make the difference. We know our neighbourhoods, we see our young people daily, we notice if there is a problem. And most importantly, we can report an issue if we see something that makes us uncomfortable.
Trust your gut instinct. It’s better to be cautious then to act too late.
There is support out there for families who are struggling and we must do our very best to ensure people wanting help are able to access the services they need.
NAPCAN suggest there are some really easy ways you can get involved in changing the future for our at-risk families. You can play your part by:
- listening to and acting on the needs and concerns of children and young people
- sharing ideas and activities to promote child friendly communities and organisations
- hosting your own community event to raise awareness of how to increase the safety and enhance the wellbeing of children in your local area.
So this week, I really urge everyone to please “Play your Part” and help us stamp out child abuse and neglect in our region. You can find out more from NAPCAN’s website at http://napcan.org.au/