Crimes against children and more specifically, sexual-based crime is never an easy topic to discuss. It is something most of us would prefer not to even think about, let alone talk about in an open forum, Queensland Police say.
But in order to prevent these crimes, open and frank discussion is something we need to have. The community plays an important role in helping police respond to these crimes and enabling the groups and organisations who are there to provide support and assistance, access to those who have suffered through these crimes.
The team at the Child Safety and Sexual Crimes Group and investigators from child protection investigation units (CPIU) across the state come face to face with these crimes every day. They are at the coal face, witnessing first-hand the atrocities and the injuries. They face the reality of this situation and leave each night wondering to themselves if this is something that could have been prevented.
There is no doubt they achieve fantastic results and have worked hard to bring many a child sex offender to justice, however it is a fact these crimes are not just something police need to deal with. We all have a role to play in standing up and stopping these crimes.
Too often it is easy for us to turn away or ignore warning signs we see with our neighbours, our friends, our child’s school mates or relatives. Those little signs, the niggly thought that gets stuck in your mind about something not being quite right. It’s those thoughts that need to be turned into conversation, into questions and essentially into a phone call to the people in a position to help.
In conjunction with the Child Safety and Sexual Crimes Group’s Task Force Argos, the latest video in the "Habits of highly destructive people" looks at the issue of paedophiles and predators and discusses, over two parts, the crimes we would all prefer not to think about.
By taking a moment to walk in the shoes of the investigators, it might help us all understand the challenges they face and most importantly, the need for us all to work together and put a stop to these crimes.
September 4-10 is Queensland Child Protection Week.
For more information on Child Protection Week visit: http://www.childprotectionweek.org.au/
For more information on keeping your kids safe online visit:
https://www.police.qld.gov.au/programs/cscp/personalSafety/children/childProtection/
Please note, the below video contains content suitable for a mature audience.
