A collaborative project led by Burnet Institute to prevent the online exploitation of children has been awarded a research grant funded by the Westpac Foundation.
The Westpac Foundation Safer Children, Safer Communities 2021 Research Grant valued at $150,000 over up to two years will support the co-design of new technology interventions to prevent online sexual exploitation of children in families experiencing poverty.
Led by Associate Professor Megan Lim, Burnet's Deputy Program Director, Behaviours and Health Risks and Head of Young People's Health, the research team will work with Australian families experiencing poverty to understand how technologies could fit in their lives and protect their children.
"Using human-centred design, public health researchers and computer science experts will work with these families to generate new ideas, and design interventions that might be feasible, effective, and acceptable in prevention of sexual exploitation," Associate Professor Lim said.
The Westpac Foundation Research Grants Program supports quality research and the development of new evidence-based approaches towards tackling the problem of child abuse, child sexual abuse and exploitation in Australia.
This work is a collaboration with researchers from RMIT, University of Melbourne, and Monash University.
