ECPAT International (Global Boys Initiative), released 2021 In recent years, there has been a growing awareness that we lack a comprehensive understanding of how sexual exploitation affects boys. Data on the sexual exploitation of all children is generally lacking. When it does exist, it tends to focus on girls. Yet, evidence suggests that boys may be as, or even more, vulnerable than girls in...
Female genital cutting (FGC) & cervical screening: A guide for practitioners
CANCER COUNCIL VICTORIA & WOMEN’S HEALTH WEST FARREP PROGRAM, First published 2017 The World Health Organization defines female genital cutting (FGC) as ‘all procedures that include partial or total removal of female genital organs or other injury to female genital organs for non-medical reasons’. ‘Female genital mutilation’ is the term used in Australian and Victorian legislation, but the...
‘My mob is telling their story and it makes me feel good’: here’s what Aboriginal survivors of child sexual abuse told us they need
The Conversation, October 22, 2019 6.00am AEDT There are an estimated 60,000 survivors of institutional child sexual abuse in Australia. Based on the private sessions held as part of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, 15% of survivors are Aboriginal. That suggests an estimated 9,000 Aboriginal survivors. This is likely an under estimation. Not only do...
UNESCO paper busts myths about comprehensive sexuality education
UNESCO, 2019 Comprehensive sexuality education is an essential part of a good quality education that improves sexual and reproductive health, argues Facing the Facts, a new policy paper by the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report at UNESCO that seeks to dispel social and political resistance to sexuality education in many countries. Globally, each year, 15 million girls marry before the age...
First criminal prosecution of female genital mutilation in Queensland goes to trial today
ABC News, 21/05/18 The first couple to be prosecuted on female genital mutilation charges in Queensland have pleaded not guilty to allegedly taking two girls aged nine and 12 to Africa to undergo the procedure. The African man and woman—who cannot be named for legal reasons—were charged in 2015 on two counts each of removing a child from the state for female genital mutilation. Their case is...
Pregnant women are at increased risk of domestic violence in all cultural groups
The Conversation, April 26, 2018 6.00pm AEST Domestic violence occurs across all age groups and life stages. Rather than reducing during pregnancy, expecting a child is a key risk factor for domestic violence beginning or escalating. Our research, published today in the journal BMJ Open, found that 4.3% of pregnant women due to give birth in Western Sydney disclosed domestic violence when asked...