As this week’s Australian talks about the issues of transgender treatment for children and Jeremey Epstein’s suspicious death in custody, the Safeguarding Program’s Parent Workshops, focused on the safety of our children in parishes, seems especially deserving of overwhelming community support.
While the Church recognises that there is no foolproof system for the complete prevention of all forms of abuse, it embraces the fundamental belief that all children have the right to physical and psychological safety at all times.
The aim of the Safeguarding Program is to raise awareness of our collective responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable individuals within the Catholic Archdiocese of Perth.
The scheme is based on the 12 National Standards Child Wise 2014, which incorporate elements of public health interventions to prevent the abuse of children, minimise the risk of abuse by heightening the likelihood that abuse will be detected, and reduce the long-term impacts of abuse on children.
Protecting God’s Children is a workshop for all parents of children aged four to 12, and has been designed to educate parents on why all children are vulnerable to abuse and the dangers to watch out for.
The workshop is based on the premise, as set out in the Bible, that parents are the primary educators of their children, developing safety skills which begin at home: the role of parents in empowering their children as part of God’s plan for love and protection is explored in detail.
Protecting God’s Children will be held in the first week of September (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights at 7pm), located at Spearwood Parish, Bedford/Inglewood Parish, and Wanneroo Parish.
Cyber Safety – Protecting Children and Teens Online provides an overview of the online world (including Australian statistics); specific information about gaming, online grooming, sexting and pornography; protecting personal information, and; information about parental controls and restrictions, balancing online time and establishing boundaries and expectations
Cyber Safety – Protecting Children and Teens Online is a single event, held at 6pm on Thursday 5 September at St Mary’s Cathedral, Perth.
For more information and registration, contact the Archdiocesan Safeguarding Office on 9221 7762 or email safeguarding@perthcatholic.org.au