Tier 1 – Foundational knowledge

Knowledge

You need to know:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples encompass a vast number of nations and language groups
• family, culture and connection to Country are central to the worldviews of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• historical and ongoing colonisation, racism, deprivation, forced removal of children from their families, and abuse in institutions has greatly impacted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ trust in services and institutions
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers are also deeply affected by the impacts of these traumas, and need cultural safety in their workplace to respond to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims and survivors
• some victims and survivors will choose an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander service or worker, while others may prefer workers or services from outside their community
• a visible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce can increase the likelihood of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims and survivors engaging with services.

Skills

You can: 

• appreciate how colonisation, abuse in institutions and systematic discrimination has affected how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people view and experience services and institutions and their feelings of safety when help-seeking
• wherever possible, provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victims and survivors choice in the cultural background of workers
• engage respectfully with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
• critically reflect on your own biases, assumptions, stereotypes, and power differentials
• actively support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers.

Practice tip

Trauma-aware and healing-informed 

A strength-based approach to healing that is guided by a shared understanding of, and responsiveness to, the impacts of trauma. Trauma-aware, healing-informed practice prioritises cultural, spiritual, physical, psychological, and emotional safety. Browse The Healing Foundation website to better understand cultural safety and intergenerational trauma. 

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices and names of people who have passed away.

Creating a culturally safe place for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers and families 

The Queensland Government has a useful resource – Creating a culturally safe space – which provides practical tips for creating a culturally safe place for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers and families. A culturally safe place: 

• welcomes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and partners in the physical environment
• acknowledges the richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures
• acknowledges the differences between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures
• encourages ally behaviours
• does not stay silent in the face of inappropriate behaviour – staying silent can be seen as condoning
• recruits Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff
• models an expectation of behaviour—we talk about children, families, partners and others as though they were sitting in the room with us
• expects growth to be uncomfortable
• has Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on recruitment panels
• considers using storytelling questions in interviews
• understands the concept of humility. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will often sell themselves short rather than talk themselves up. We need to be curious and ask them more
• recognises that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers need contact with their mob and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers
• encourages collectivist responsibility
• ensures staff have genuine engagement in cultural learning
• has staff who accept their responsibility to educate themselves about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history
• understands that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history is Australia’s shared history.

Keeping our kids safe – child safe organisations and cultural safety 

We, the National Office for Child Safety, in partnership with SNAICC, the national non-governmental peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, and the Victorian Aboriginal Childcare Agency (VACCA), has published the Keeping Our Kids Safe resource to support organisations engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to implement the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations (National Principles) in a culturally safe way.

Knowledge

You need to know:

• many people may experience discrimination on the basis of one or more of the following: age, gender, sexuality, ability, race, culture, language and religion
• the concept of intersectionality refers to the complex ways social identities can overlap to create intersecting and compounding forms of oppression and discrimination
• discrimination and oppression can compound difficulties related to child sexual abuse and increase barriers to help-seeking
• cultural safety is important for a range of groups, including people with disability and the LGBTQIA+ community
• some victims and survivors will prefer to engage with a service or worker from within their community (e.g. a culturally, linguistically or religiously matched service provider or an LGBTQIA+ service), while others may prefer services from outside their community
• qualified interpreters are an important professional resource to ensure access to services
• victims and survivors may have preferences regarding the gender, faith, race or culture of the interpreter.

Skills

You can: 

• recognise and challenge discrimination on the basis of age, gender, disability, race, culture, language and religion
• where possible, offer referrals to services the victim or survivor chooses and build partnerships with these services
• identify the need for additional communication and language support to facilitate engagement (such as an interpreter or augmented communication board).

Did you know?

Tips for using interpreters for family safety 

The fact sheet Using Interpreters and Family Safety provides useful information about when and how to use interpreters.

LGBTQIA+ cultural safety 

Culturally safe organisations respect, affirm and value victims, and survivors’ sexual orientations, intersex variations, and gender identities. For a deeper dive into how your organisation can embed culturally safe responses to LGBTQIA+ people please see Rainbow Tick Standards – A framework for LGBTIQ cultural safety.

Factors affecting engagement for victims and survivors from culturally, linguistically and faith-based communities 

There are a range of factors that can affect the engagement of victims and survivors from culturally and linguistically diverse and faith-based communities with child sexual abuse services. These include: 

• Lack of trust and confidence
  Research has shown that members of culturally and linguistically diverse and faith-based communities can be reluctant to engage with services and institutions because of concerns about whether their information will be handled confidentially, the potential to encounter racism and stereotypes, and a lack of confidence that responses will be appropriate and culturally safe.

  The Royal Commission comprehensively identified that many religious and faith-based institutions did not believe victim and survivor disclosures, protected perpetrators, chose not to pursue any criminal justice remedies, and silenced victims and survivors with unfair redress schemes. 

• Language barriers 
  There is often a lack of or absence of language and culturally specific services and interpreters to assist linguistically diverse victims and survivors in accessing services, particularly in regional and remote locations.

  The alleged abuser may be the only person who speaks English in the home, which significantly impacts on:

  • a child’s ability to disclose to someone they trust and who understands them
  • a parent’s ability to act independently in relation to keeping a child safe.
• Social isolation 
  An absence of a support network compounded by a lack of cultural, linguistic and faith-based services may lead to social isolation of the family, with limited opportunities for children to disclose abuse. A lack of knowledge about support services, or a mistrust of services due to past experiences, may prevent access to services.
• Compromised visa status 
  If child sexual abuse allegations lead to charges and conviction of a family member, visas for the individual or family may be impacted.
• Gender and community reputation of an alleged abuser 
  Understanding the role of gender and common beliefs and attitudes to gender is important. An individual’s attitudes and beliefs can contribute to whether and how victims and survivors make decisions to disclose. In communities where male voices are valued over the voices of women, children, young people, and gender diverse people, disclosure by people from these groups may be affected. Any adult, child or young person can be constrained by a felt need to protect the reputation of the community or alleged abuser, or fear of not being believed, being discredited or being disowned and isolated.

Current evidence about child sexual abuse occurring within religious and faith-based institutions 

The US-based National Children’s Advocacy Center (2023) has provided an international annotated bibliography capturing current evidence about child sexual abuse occurring within religious and faith-based institutions, including those in Australia.

Practice tip

The benefits of providing choice and flexibility 

‘There is overwhelming evidence that people and families who have more choice about how their care is delivered, and by whom, experience better health and wellbeing outcomes. Health responses should be based on the unique and holistic needs of the person receiving care and their family. They should be flexible, respectful, and sensitive, and identify and prioritise a person and family’s strengths, preferences, dignity, and cultural identity.’ 

– Extract from NSW Health’s Integrated Prevention and Response to Violence, Abuse and Neglect Framework

Interpreters 

When considering the use of an interpreter, seek information about cultural factors and gender roles that impact on the choice of interpreter. Due to the sensitive nature of child sexual abuse, determine if the interpreter is willing to translate the content of child sexual abuse in a way that their beliefs and values do not influence the translation. 

It is not recommended that family members or friends are asked to interpret, and a child should never act as an interpreter for a parent. At no time should a person who is an alleged abuser act as an interpreter for the child. Professional interpreting services, like Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National), should be used at all times.

Resource

Intersectionality in the disability community

Victims and survivors with disability may experience intersecting forms of oppression that compound their experience of child sexual abuse. Our Watch has developed a National resource to prevent violence against women and girls with disabilities which helps to explain why there are different rates and types of violence experienced by women and girls with disability.

Knowledge

You need to know:

• creating a welcoming environment for all victims and survivors requires attention to the diverse needs of people of different ages, abilities, cultures, faith and linguistic backgrounds, genders and sexualities and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
• which information should be confidential and which information you are obliged to share, and with whom
• to apply the principles of a trauma-informed approach in interactions with victims and survivors (see Practice Area 1)
• the impact that your cultural context and world view may have on each victim or survivor
• communicating a message of hope and healing promotes safety.

Skills

You can: 

• greet victims and survivors, families, kin and supporters warmly
• ensure all victims and survivors, families, kin and supporters feel welcome
• advocate for improvements to areas used by victims and survivors, families, kin and supporters to make them more inviting, comfortable and relaxing
• give victims and survivors choice and control where possible, including children and young people, to make the physical environment welcoming and culturally safe
• convey a sense of belonging, safety and positivity.

Practice tip

Promoting cultural safety for children 

The following resources provide helpful information and practical tips about how to ensure your organisation is culturally safe for children from diverse cultural, linguistic and religious backgrounds: 

• The Centre for Multicultural Youth’s Inclusive Organisations Good Practice Guide, which sets out good practice strategies for engaging young people from migrant and refugee backgrounds in services and programs
• The Victorian Commission for Young People’s child safe resources to help organisations comply with the National Child Safe Standards
• The Australian Human Rights Commission’s Child Safe Organisations resources to support implementation of the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations. This includes guidance and information relating to cultural safety
• The National Office’s Child Safety Risk Management resources to support organisations to develop risk management practices to safeguard children and young people from harm. This includes guidance on how organisations can adequately support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people.

Reflecting on your practice

Observing the physical space 

Step outside your reception or entrance area and imagine walking into your space for the first time as a victim and survivor. 

What do you experience?

• How will you know if you’re in the right place?
• Who is the first staff member you will encounter and how will they greet you?
• What are the noise levels like?
• Is there a comfortable place to sit while you wait?
• How much space from other victims and survivors do you have while you wait? What is the layout like?
• Is there information in other languages and posters that convey a commitment to children, young people and adults from diverse communities and genders, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, LGBTQIA+ people and people with disability?
• If you see children in your service, get down on their level and try to see the space and experience it from their perspective. What might need to change? 

Can you see anything that could be changed to make your service more welcoming and inviting, so that victims and survivors feel more at ease? There are many considerations you might like to think about, e.g. noise levels, colours to avoid (e.g. reds or bold oranges), privacy and, representations of diversity in your community in posters, brochures, flags, artwork and signs.