“We wish every week could be Child Protection Week”

It was an enormous week this Child Protection Week, with Act for Kids hosting and attending events from as far as North Queensland all the way down to Adelaide.

From Family Fun Days in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, to carnivals, movie nights, fun runs and more, it was an important time for Act for Kids to engage with the community and reach out to those who might not know what we do.

All eyes were on Queensland, as Child Protection Week celebrated its 30^th anniversary in the state that created the now national awareness campaign.

Act for Kids CEO Dr Neil Carrington could be heard on over 25 radio stations around the nation, sharing the harsh facts Act for Kids recently uncovered surrounding emotional abuse.

“Our research found that a third of respondents or 38% had experienced emotional abuse as a child and that number is just too high,” Dr Neil Carrington said.

“In 2014-15, emotional abuse accounted for 43% of substantiated child abuse cases and yet people still don’t seem to understand the effects emotional abuse can have on a child. At Act for Kids, we wish every week could be Child Protection Week.”

In the Brisbane region, we saw the official opening of the Brisbane North Intensive Family Support service which was attended by politicians, key stakeholders and many influential dignitaries.

Then to bring the week to a close Act for Kids hosted a huge public awareness campaign at Southbank where we attempted to get over 3,000 hand prints on one continuous sheet of paper!

Due to some cool and stormy weather, Act for Kids didn’t quite reach our goal but we did manage to collect over 2,100 hand prints including one paw print and a foot print!

“It was a fantastic day out and we had so many wonderful volunteers who gave up their day to help us out,” said Donna Miller, event organiser.

“We learnt so much and next year’s event will be even bigger and better!”

Check out some of the Act for Kids highlights from Child Protection Week below and read the Huffington Post for Dr Neil Carrington’s view on emotional abuse and why it needs to stop.