Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitations in Tasmania

This document discusses the issue of child sexual abuse and exploitations in Tasmania. It explores the programs and initiatives in place to address this issue, such as the Sexual Assault Support Service (SASS). The document also highlights the importance of community education and collaboration in protecting vulnerable children.

Running head: CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATIONS IN TASMANIA 1
Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitations in Tasmania
Name
Institution

CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATIONS IN TASMANIA 2
Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitations in Tasmania
Q 1 A)
Child sexual abuse and exploitation in the States of Tasmania takes place in the form of
harassment, assault, bullying and discrimination on the bases of gender identity. According to
Krone et al. (2017), issues of child sexual abuse impose great negative effects on the affected
minor, parents, family members and the community in general. The State of Tasmania adopts
programs such as the Sexual Assault Support Service (SASS) aimed at availing social and
economic support among children who are considered as victims of all forms of sexual violence.
According to Walsh, Brandon and Kruck (2017), SASS proceeds with the aim of providing
counseling services among children who display problem sexual behaviors as well as sexually
abusive behaviors. On the other hand, Boxall et al. (2016) explain that the SASS program fosters
child protection by initiating a wider range of support programs targeting which include case
management, community advocacy, case management, crisis support and advocacy.
Further, SASS provides information and support initiatives among trained professionals
to ensure that its operational objectives are adequately achieved. The initiative further
implements community education ventures in a wider range of settings such as colleges, primary
and secondary schools. In 2016, the Tasmanian state government accorded SASS a four-year
grant through the Department of Education to foster operational efficiency in delivering training
to four institutions in this jurisdiction. To date, SASS attends to about 1000 clients on an annual
basis.
SASS depicts multiple commonalities with the Tasmanian state child protection
guidelines aimed at limiting sexual harassment among minors. For instance, the initiatives put in
place by SASS are in line with the state government’s policy frameworks such as the Children

CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATIONS IN TASMANIA 3
and Young Person’s and Their Families Act 1997 that aims at meeting the needs of vulnerable
children in the society. SASS reinforces the objectives of the Children and Young Person’s and
Their Families Act 1997 by availing therapeutic interventions among children and other
members of the community who present with sexually abusive behavior.
B)
The child protection system put in place by the Tasmanian government gives a clear
reflection of the objectives of the national framework in terms of minimizing the vices associated
with sexual abuse and exploitation of minors. Boxall et al. (2016) reveal that the Australian
government tailors its child protection services in such a way that they are capable of receiving,
investigating and evaluating any allegations of minor abuse, neglect and harm by referring the
affected populaces to family and social support service providers. The fact that SASS works in
collaboration with communities and professionals to avail the necessary information, training
and support initiatives through workshops and societal education activities reveals its efficacy in
fulfilling the requirements of the national government.
Q. 2
a)
Institutionalization of policy changes has a great positive impact on the child protection
system in Tasmania. For instance, the inception of the Children and Young Person’s and Their
Families Act 1997 has been of critical significance in fostering positive behavioral change
among the residents of Tasmania. The policy frameworks put in place initiates statutory action
among minors that are affected with the issues of sexual abuse and exploitation by fostering
early prevention, intervention and collaborative platforms with community-based partnerships.

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b)
Economic downturn may impose a negative effect on SASS as a child protection system
adopted by the Tasmanian government. According to Taylor (2017), economic downturn
exposes families to multiple fiscal challenges. As such, these families are forced to impose
budgetary cuts to minimize their expenses. Comparatively, children may react to such budgetary
cuts by engaging in unscrupulous activities which may expose them to the vulnerabilities of
sexual abuse and exploitation.
c)
Societal pressure on the state and national governments to increase the activities aimed at
minimizing the number of child deaths in the children protection system could yield positive
results in fostering reduction of sexual abuse and exploitation. According to Goodman-
Delahunty et al. (2017), proper reduction of the number of deaths incurred in the child protection
system can only be achieved with adequate funding, incorporation of the required infrastructure
and enlightening the community. The child protection system in Tasmania would benefit in a
positive way by institutionalizing these frameworks.
d)
Introduction of centralized reporting systems would lead to a significant reduction in the
cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation in Tasmania. Incorporation of instruments such as
help lines and other real-time reporting tools will play an essential role in ensuring that cases of
child sexual assault and exploitation reach the obliged agencies in ample timeframes. As a
consequence, timely action will be implemented to reduce such cases.

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Q. 3
a)
The National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children is described by Goodman-
Delahunty et al. (2017) as a long-term policy approach adopted by the national government to
protect all children in this jurisdiction. In Tasmania, the national government works with the
Department of Education, the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority, the Safe
Families Coordination Unit, Child Wellbeing Unit and Child Protection Services to tackle the issues
of child sexual abuse and exploitation. The aforementioned agencies play the roles of raising
community awareness and developing positive child-safe cultures in institutional and community
settings. Further, the agencies play the role of whistle blowing and advocacy among the affected
minors.
b)
The SASS is the major program adopted by the Tasmanian government to target children
and families exposed to the issues of child sexual abuse and exploitation. SASS plays the role of
availing the necessary therapeutic intervention among children who portray sexually abusive
traits and problem sexual behaviors. Further, the program fosters collaborations with the affected
children, the community, family members and the most appropriate support professionals to
instill positive behavior change among the affected children.
c)
The Young People and Sexually Abusive Behaviors Project is the key early intervention
services targeting vulnerable families in Tasmania. The project offers community based
interventions through incorporation of on-time frameworks of reporting the issues of sexual
abuse and harassment statewide. Further, the project maintains ample contact with the local
populaces to avail real-time interventions.

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d)
Establish Safe Families Tasmania is the key agency established with the aim of
promoting universal preventative services to support all families and children in this area of
governance. In its position as the most eminent program in Australia, the initiative advocates for
holding all perpetrators of child abuse and exploitation to account. Further, Cleaver et al. (2017)
reveal that this program fosters ample stakeholder coordination to support victims.
Q 4
Emotional intelligence and empathy are essential potencies in fostering positive working
relations. I plan to enhance my social dexterities by inculcating self-awareness and self-
regulation as elements of emotional in order to develop positive working relationships in my area
of practice. Further, I will apply the skill of empathy by ensuring that all my team members are
treated with utmost respect and putting myself in their shoes before initiating any form of
critique.
Q.5
a) The four key stages of the PDCA cycle include: plan, do check and act.
Plan involves proper definition of the problem in question by collecting data and ascertaining the
root cause of the issue. Do inculcate the process of developing and implementation of the
identified solution. Check involves effective confirmation of the results attained by undertaking
comparisons. Lastly, Act involves the documentation of the results obtained informing
stakeholders and making the necessary recommendations.
b)
 Interface between the organization and security agencies

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 Real-time reporting services
 Poor supervision
 Reactive as opposed to strategic reporting approaches
 Stakeholder coordination
 Community links
 Staffing issues
C)
I will review staffing and establishment of ample community links.
The current number of employees is inadequate. There is need for the child protection
agency to recruit more employees as a way of reducing the current workload. This will enhance
the degrees of operational efficiency when dealing with cases of child sexual abuse and
exploitation.
The community plays a vital role in identifying and reporting the cases of child sexual
abuse and exploitation. Further, community members are key whistleblowers in their locales. As
a consequence, the agency must establish ample frameworks aimed at fostering community
integration and participation.
Q. 6
a) Feedback
Feedback fosters professional development by availing the necessary checks and balances.
Feedback allows for proper identification of areas that need to be rectified as well as those that

CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AND EXPLOITATIONS IN TASMANIA 8
need reinforcement. Further, Gathercole et al. (2017) explain that this strategy fosters real-time
correction whenever faults are committed.
b) Self-assessment
Self assessment plays a central role in fostering the inclusion of ample correctional mechanisms
among individual employees. Further, self-assessment allows an employee to undertake the
required changes from an individualized viewpoint.
c) Supervision
Supervision fosters professional development by availing the instructions needed to undertake
tasks. The supervisory arm of a particular firm gives professional instructions with the aim of
advancing the potencies of the workforce when accomplishing tasks.
d) Reflection
Reflection allows for identification of one’s strengths and weaknesses. As such, professionals are
presented with the opportunity to appraise their strengths and diminish their weaknesses.

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References
Boxall, H., Australian Institute of Criminology, & Fuller, G. (2016). Brief review of
contemporary sexual offence and child sexual abuse legislation in Australia: 2015
update. Australian Institute of Criminology.
Cleaver, G. F., Huang, S., Jones, E., Martin, M., Meikle, G., Morgan, A., & Zhu, J. (2016). The
Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse commissioned
and funded this research project. The authors carried it out with the assistance of the
following researchers, people and organisations.
Gathercole, M. F., Lykins, A. D., & Dunstan, D. A. (2016). Identifying key pathways into sexual
offending for juvenile offenders and exploring possible differences for the Aboriginal
community. Sexual Abuse in Australia and New Zealand, 7(1), 18.
Goodman-Delahunty, J., Lee, E., Powell, M. B., & Westera, N. (2017). Methods to Evaluate
Justice in Eliciting Evidence from Complaints of Child Sexual Abuse. Newcastle L. Rev.,
12, 42.
Krone, T., Smith, R. G., Cartwright, J., Hutchings, A., Tomison, A., & Napier, S. (2017). Online
child sexual exploitation offenders: A study of Australian law enforcement data.

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Taylor, S. C. (2017). Community perceptions of a public sex offender registry introduced in
Western Australia. Police Practice and Research, 18(3), 275-290.
Walsh, K. M., Brandon, L., & Kruck, L. A. J. (2017). Audit of primary school-based sexual
abuse prevention policy and curriculum: Volumes 1 to 5: Report prepared for the Royal
Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.