Terminology

- ‘Child, Children, and Young Person/People’ means anyone aged 17 or younger.

- ‘Adult/s’ means anyone aged 18 or older.

- ‘Workers’ means anyone aged 18 or older who has a contractual relationship with Mulgara Creations™.

 

Part A – Responsibilities and Definitions

1.0 Responsibilities

1.1 It is the responsibility of every Child, Adult, and Worker to protect and safeguard all children, regardless of time, location, or condition.

 

1.2 As an Australian business, all work, projects, and productions carried out by Mulgara Creations™ is subject to any and all Australian laws, both State and Federal, in regard to the protection and safeguarding of Children.

 

1.3 As a member of the United Nations, all Children and Adults within the nation of Australian are obligated to abide by:

• The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)

Link: https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

Link: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

 

2.0 Definitions

2.1 Safeguarding is the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.

 

2.2 Safeguarding means:

• Protecting children from abuse and maltreatment,

• Preventing harm to children’s health or development,

• Ensuring children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care,

• Taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcomes.

 

2.3 Child protection is part of the safeguarding process and focuses on protecting individual children identified as suffering or likely to suffer significant harm.

 

2.4 The child protection policy and safeguarding children guidance apply to all children up to the age of 18 years.

 

What is Child Abuse?

2.5 Child abuse is any action by another person – adult or child – that causes significant harm to a child. It can be physical, sexual, or emotional, but can also be about a lack of love, care, and attention. Neglect, whatever form it takes, can be as damaging to a child as physical abuse.

 

2.6 An abused child can experience more than one type of abuse, as well as other difficulties in their lives. It can often happen over a period of time, rather than being a one-off event, and increasingly it can happen online.

 

2.7 Children are more vulnerable to abuse because they have a disability, or because they are experiencing parental and child mental health issues, bullying, parental or child substance misuse, such as drugs or alcohol, and behavioural issues including exclusion from education, social isolation, etc.

 

Types of child abuse

2.8 Physical Abuse is deliberately hurting a child causing injuries such as bruises, broken bones, burns or cuts.

 

2.9 Emotional Abuse is the emotional maltreatment or neglect of a child. It is sometimes called psychological abuse and can cause children serious harm. It may lead to a child thinking that they are worthless, unloved, and inadequate. It may include expecting a child to be able to do more than their stage of development would allow, such as expecting a baby to feed themselves, be toilet trained or not to cry, as well as being overprotective and stopping children from having opportunities to explore or participate in normal social interaction. It can also include seeing or hearing domestic abuse, being subject to or witnessing bullying (including cyber bullying) which can cause a child to frequently feel frightened or in danger. Emotional abuse is a factor in all forms of abuse although it may exist alone.

 

2.10 Neglect is the ongoing failure to meet a child's basic needs. It is dangerous and children can suffer serious and long-term harm. Neglect may occur during pregnancy because of maternal alcohol or drug misuse, but once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food, clothing and shelter, lack of supervision, access to medical care or keeping the child safe from danger. It may also include unresponsiveness to a child's basic emotional needs.

 

2.11 Sexual Abuse is when a child is forced or persuaded to take part in sexual activities. This does not have to be physical contact, but could involve children looking at, or being the subject of, sexual images, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse. Sexual abuse is not solely perpetrated by adult men, women can also commit acts of sexual abuse, as can other children.

 

2.12 What is grooming?

Grooming is defined as developing the trust of an individual or their family for the purposes of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, or trafficking. Grooming can happen both online and in person.

 

2.13 Online Abuse is any type of abuse that happens online, whether through social networks or playing games online. Sexual abuse can happen online too.

 

2.14 We want to ensure that anyone working with children has sufficient knowledge and confidence to report any concerns that they might have for a child or about the behaviour of an adult or other young person, towards a child through an understanding of this Policy. Some adults and children will try to groom children over a period of time while others may act opportunistically. It is therefore up to all who work for and/or interacted in any capacity with Mulgara Creations™ to create a safeguarding culture and working environment where the potential to perpetrate abuse is minimised and prevented.

 

Part B – What do I do if I am concerned about a child?

3.0 Types of Concern

3.1 You may be concerned about the welfare of a child for a number of reasons. For example: you may have observed an injury; witnessed or heard an interaction between children or between an adult and a child; you may be concerned about bullying or inappropriate use of mobile phones, you may know of someone who has been, or is, accessing or sharing child sex abuse images, a child may exhibit inappropriate sexualised behaviour or awareness, or look neglected or withdrawn in their behaviour; or a child might make a disclosure to you that they or someone they know is being abused.

 

3.2 It is important that you:

• Remain calm and do not show shock or disbelief

• Listen carefully to what is being said

• Do not ask detailed, probing, or leading questions

 

3.3 In most situations the child is unlikely to be in immediate danger, but if they are you must contact the police on 000. You must then inform the Production Safety Officer.

 

3.4 Whatever your concern - whether you have been told something by a child or another person, whether you have seen or heard something that has made you uncomfortable, or whether you become aware of a breach of Mulgara Creations™ policy – YOU MUST SHARE IT. It does not matter how you have become aware or how the child has come into contact with Mulgara Creations™.

 

3.5 Do not ignore a concern or do nothing. We do not expect you to decide what is significant or whether abuse has happened, but you are expected to share information. Always inform your Production Safety Officer.

 

3.6 Once you have shared your concern, the Production Safety Officer will be responsible for taking this forward.

 

3.7 Potential outcomes, dependent on the seriousness of the concern, could be a referral to a statutory agency such as Police or Child Protective Services. The information you hold may be important in building a bigger picture and in helping to safeguard the child.

 

3.8 The Production Safety Officer will also be responsible for recording in writing what has been discussed, the action they have taken, who they contacted and what was agreed.

 

3.9 In some circumstances children may present with injuries or behaviours which, in isolation, are not significant. It is advisable to maintain a record of when children present with unexplained injuries, behaviours etc., as, over a period of time, a picture may emerge that raises concern, and this should be dealt with by following this policy.

 

3.10 If the parent is not aware of the disclosure, or they are the alleged abuser, where possible it is better to wait for guidance from the Police or Child Protective Services as to how much information can be shared. Where the parent can be informed this is likely to be distressing for them so you will need to think about who is best placed to do this. If the child is in the care of a chaperone you will need to consider the child’s right to confidentiality, unless it is the chaperone that has approached you. In the large majority of Mulgara Creations™ productions, the chaperone will be a parent or legal guardian of the child.

 

3.11 Dependent on the seriousness of your concern it may not be possible to maintain your anonymity, but this will be discussed with you, and you will be offered support throughout. Social workers will always consider how best to protect the referrer, but ultimately such decisions must be made in the best interests of the child, and it is always possible that the alleged perpetrator may guess who made the referral.

 

3.12 What if the child is in immediate danger or requires medical attention?

Dial 000 and ask for the appropriate emergency service. Once you have made sure the child is safe, inform your Production Safety Officer immediately.

 

4.0 Safeguarding Children Online

4.1 All of the above applies to concerns of online child abuse.

 

5.0 What do I do if I have concerns about an adult’s contact with children

5.1 If you have concerns about the behaviour of an adult towards a child, be they a parent, manager, colleague, friend, chaperone etc., you must speak to your Production Safety Officer. You can be confident that you will not suffer any personal detriment by sharing your concerns.

 

5.2 You may be concerned that an adult:

• Is behaving, or has behaved, in such a way that a child has been harmed or may be harmed,

• May possibly have committed a criminal offence against a child; or

• Has behaved towards a child or children in a way that makes you think they may pose a risk of harm to children

AND/OR

• The behaviour of the individual compromises the reputation and ability of Mulgara Creations™ to safeguard children and young people. Examples of such behaviour (not exhaustive) could be:

• Contravening or continuing to contravene any safe practice guidance for working with children given by Mulgara Creations™,

• Exploiting or abusing a position of trust and/or power,

• Consistently demonstrating a failure to understand or appreciate how their own actions could adversely impact upon the safety and well-being of a child,

• Exhibiting an inability to make sound professional judgements which safeguard the welfare of children,

• Failing to follow adequately Mulgara Creations™ policy or procedures relating to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children,

• Failing to understand or recognise the need for clear personal and professional boundaries in their work; or

• Behaving in such a way that it seriously undermines the trust and confidence placed in them by Mulgara Creations™.

 

6.0 Allegation Process

6.1 There may be up to three strands in the consideration of an allegation:

• Consideration by an employer of disciplinary action in respect of the individual,

• A police investigation of a possible criminal offence; and

• Enquiries and assessment by Children’s Services as to whether the child is in need of protection or in need of services

 

6.2 Any allegation or concern should be reported immediately to Founder and Operator of Mulgara Creations™, Arryn Leigh Cox.

 

6.3 On receipt of the allegation the Founder and Operator will be responsible for consulting with Police and Child Protective Services.

 

6.4 If an allegation leads to an investigation by Police and/or Child Protective Services, and/or criminal proceedings, whether resulting in criminal sentencing or not, any publicity about the related incident, concern/s, investigation, or sentencing should uphold confidentiality so it is important that any media response is planned carefully. No worker, adult, or child contracted by Mulgara Creations™ will make any public or media response without the written permission of Mulgara Creations™ in order to protect the privacy and confidentially of all those involved, as well as to decrease the potential of misinformation. The alleged victim/s, their families, Police, and Child Protective Services will always be consulted before any public or media release by Mulgara Creations™ or its contractors.

 

Part C – Safeguarding

7.0 Consent

7.1 Informed consent from the child, parent, legal guardian, or organisation with parental responsibility for the child must always be obtained in advance of working with children in any capacity and documented evidence of consent must always be kept.

 

8.0 Online and Social Media

8.1 Children as contributors

When engaging with children as contributors it is particularly important to consider the role of social media and the internet. The use of social media and the internet is an intrinsic part of life for many children, and you must make sure that young people understand the impact of appearing in Mulgara Creations™ content, and what the implications can be for anyone active on social media. Children under 13 years of age are not permitted to have an account by many social media services, but research suggests that this is not strictly adhered to and some 10–12-year-olds will have their own account. Therefore, productions should make sure that the children (and their parents) know how to keep themselves safe while online.

 

8.2 Mulgara Creations™ Sub-Contractors, Freelancers and Supporting Artists

Mulgara Creations™ has a zero tolerance to any form of abuse of children including the inappropriate use of any computers, mobile phones, video/digital cameras, or other electronic devices to commit online grooming, possess, distribute, or create child abuse images. Disciplinary action which is proportionate and justifiable will be taken if anyone is found to be in breach of the above.

 

Failure to follow this policy may result in disciplinary action being

taken against you.

 

Part D - Legal Context

9.0 Acts and Guidance

9.1 Australia is governed by a range of legislation that seeks to protect the child and these have an impact on how Mulgara Creations™ functions in respect of its relationship with children. Child Protection Laws may vary from State to State.

 

Additional Links to Legislation and Child Protection Information for Queensland, Australia:

 

Child Protection Information:

https://www.cyjma.qld.gov.au/protecting-children

 

Reporting Child Abuse:

https://www.qld.gov.au/community/getting-support-health-social-issue/support-victims-abuse/child-abuse/reporting-child-abuse

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Child Employment Information:

https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/employing/taking-on-staff/employing-children