How can we work with children, families and communities when we suspect a child is being sexually abused but we aren't sure? How can we support parents and community members to recognise and respond to children at risk of sexual abuse? This can be difficult work, full of uncertainty and ambiguity. This workshop will focus on bold, practical and creative approaches to working with children, families and communities and will help you see, understand and respond to children at high risk of child sexual abuse.

We know that for children to flourish into adulthood, they need connection. The workshop will focus on holistic approaches that engage families and communities in building safety and addressing risk. The key messages of child aware and child safe practices will be considered in the context of child sexual abuse and you will find empathic and sensitive approaches which support families to find solutions rather than blaming or shaming.

The workshop will give you a snap shot of the See, Understand and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse – A Practical Kit (the kit), an innovative and world first resource developed by the Office of the Senior Practitioner in the NSW Department of Family and Community Services in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders. The kit highlights important points from contemporary research and is supported by two OSP literature reviews, ‘Child Sexual Abuse – What the Research Tells Us’ (OSP Child Sexual Abuse Literature Review) and ‘Disclosure What the Research Tells Us’ (OSP Disclosure Literature Review).