eSafeKids

😢 Harm to children often comes not from those society teaches us to FEAR, but from those it teaches us to TRUST.

A Perth Paediatrician with hidden cameras in an examination room accused of sexually abusing a child patient and possessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material.

The accused specialises in behavioural issues affecting children and operated from locations in Midland and Nedlands.

Hidden cameras in the examination room were said to have captured sexual offending. There may be up to 9 victims.

Chia Liang Saw (41 years of age) has been charged with persistent sexual conduct and possessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material. The alleged persistent sexual conduct occurred between September 2023 and May 2026.

Detectives urge anyone with information regarding the alleged offences or similar incidents to contact crime stoppers on 1800 333 000 or by making a report online.

Reports of sexual abuse can be made to WA Police by calling 131 444 or by accessing the secure Safe2Say reporting service.

This week I had the opportunity to support a school committed to a whole-school approach to online safety and digital wellbeing.

Creating safer digital environments for children isn’t achieved through a single lesson or presentation. It requires a shared commitment from school leaders, staff, students and families working together to build knowledge, skills and healthy digital habits.

Thanks for having me Brabham Primary School.

Read those numbers again.

Research found that:

• 4% of Australian men would have sexual contact with a child younger than 10 if they knew no one would find out.

• 4.6% would have sexual contact with a child aged 10–12 if they knew no one would find out.

• 5.7% would have sexual contact with a child aged 12–14 if they knew no one would find out.

These aren’t statistics about children at risk. They are statistics about adults willing to harm children.

Child sexual abuse is often talked about as though it is rare, committed by a handful of monsters lurking in the shadows. The reality is far more confronting. Most children know their abuser. Most abuse occurs in everyday environments where children live, learn and spend time.

Protecting children requires more than teaching children about safety. It requires adults willing to face uncomfortable truths, challenge harmful attitudes, create safer environments, supervise appropriately, recognise grooming behaviours and take action when something doesn’t feel right.

Child sexual abuse prevention begins with acknowledging the scale of the problem. We cannot prevent what we refuse to see.

As I’ve been saying in my workshops for over 10 years, child sexual abuse is not committed by everyone, but it can be committed by anyone.

There’s lots of resources on the eSafeKids website to support developmentally appropriate education and conversation.

The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse found:

👉 20.6% of victim-survivors took 20 - 29 years to disclose child sexual abuse.

👉 55.7% of victim-survivors took 30+ years to disclose child sexual abuse.

If we ask children to tell, we can’t let them down when they do. How you respond matters!

❤️ A supportive, calm and validating response can be the first step towards healing.

😢 On the other hand, dismissive, minimising or disbelieving responses can reinforce silence, shame and fear, keeping children at risk and delaying help and support.

👆Visit the free eSafeKids Members’ Community and download Responding to a Disclosure of Child Sexual Abuse.

📚 Brought to life with funny and informative illustrations, this is a smart, playful and empowering book that is jam packed with child friendly information about consent.

Both as a Police Officer and as a parent out and about, I’ve had lost children approach me looking for help. When a child is lost, scared or unsafe, sometimes the safest thing they can do is approach someone they don’t know, a stranger. Child safety education should empower children with practical skills for the real world, not leave them fearful of it. My Tricky Eye Spy is a great book to support this education and conversation.

“You see most strangers are friendly, most strangers are nice, they meet you and greet you, give helpful advice. But very few strangers, to meet one is rare, could make us unsafe so we must be aware. These people are tricksters we’ll tell them apart not by their looks but by using our smarts ...”

Link: www.esafekids.com.au/shop

❗️UPDATE: META TO USE NEW AI VISUAL ANALYSIS TOOLS TO SCAN USERS PHOTOS & VIDEOS

Meta has announced it will start to use visual analysis such as height and bone structure to identify if an account likely belongs to someone underage.

Meta will use this new visual analysis in conjunction with existing contextual tools (eg. birthday celebrations) and account characteristics (eg. posts and comments).

If an account is found to be underage, to prevent it from being deleted the account holder will need to provide proof of age via existing age verification.

Meta has assured users this is not facial recognition and does not identify the specific person in the image or video.

Meta is also making it easier to report underage accounts and is strengthening measures to prevent users circumventing age requirements and creating new underage accounts.

Meta says this change is about keeping kids safe;

🤔 Do you trust Meta?

🤔 Is this crossing the line?

Language matters …

Child sexual abuse material is photos and videos of children’sprivate body parts and children being sexually abused. Every image and video captures the real abuse and harm of a child.

‘Child pornography’ is an inaccurate and outdated term. It sanitises the reality of the harm being done and fails to reflect the seriousness of the crime.

The children in the photos and videos deserve for us to accurately label what they are experiencing - child sexual abuse and exploitation.

Is Roblox really trying to keep younger children safe?

In my opinion, this change does not recognise the importance of age-appropriate environments, developmental differences or the need to reduce unnecessary risk for children.

Children and teenagers are at very different developmental stages.

What may feel socially acceptable, emotionally manageable or age-appropriate for a 15 year old can be confusing, overwhelming or unsafe for a younger child.

The issue isn’t that all teenagers are unsafe. It’s that younger children need digital environments with stronger safeguards, slower social dynamics and lower exposure to risks such as inappropriate conversations, grooming, bullying, sexualised content and harmful behavioural influences.

Anyone else think Roblox needs to try again?