Protecting children from abuse is everyone's responsibility

Ian Wishart, chief executive of Plan in Australia.

Today The Age newspaper in Melbourne published an opinion piece by Plan chief executive Ian Wishart about what aid and development agencies do to prevent child abuse.

Mr Wishart also calls for all organisations and companies that work overseas to take more responsibility for protecting children from harm.

The full article is published below. You can also read the story and leave a comment on The Age website.

Tougher penalties to punish the evils of child sex tourists

WHEN I started as an aid worker helping children in slums and relief camps more than 20 years ago, I was completely naive about the threat posed by paedophiles. Child abuse was a taboo topic and rarely spoken about in public life, and I assumed that all humanitarian workers had good intentions. My ignorance and innocence reflected the times.

It was not long before the harsh realities of the threats to children became painfully clear. It was not just food, water and shelter that children required, but also protection, and sometimes from the very people who positioned themselves as saviours.

This week an Australian government advertising campaign has put Australian child sex tourists on notice. The campaign, including newspaper advertisements and posters at airports around the country, warns people who are planning crimes against children that penalties for planning or committing these crimes, here or overseas, are now tougher.

These laws make it clear that children overseas deserve the same level of protection from abuse as our own children.

In the late 1980s and early '90s, major child sponsorship agencies were a soft touch for paedophiles seeking to groom children. These people could become a sponsor, groom a child through letter exchanges and gifts, visit the child and family and find ways to manoeuvre the child into a vulnerable position.

I sadly recall how one paedophile paid a visit to a child under the supervision of an agency and then returned later to convince the family to let the child travel with him to Australia for an education. In another case, an aid worker spent a decade working their way into a position of authority within an agency so they could gain access to children. Experiences such as this shattered my naivety, and caused deep soul-searching in the sector.

As a result, over the past 20 years many child sponsorship agencies have radically overhauled procedures to manage this ever-present threat. Child sponsorship agencies, just like schools, kindergartens, churches and youth groups, realised that they must develop a culture of vigilance when it comes to protecting children.

The people who prey on children will always look for the weak links that they can exploit. None of us can afford to be that weak link. Removing the opportunities for these people to hurt children means learning about how they think, and responding appropriately.

In my agency's case - and this is similar for most child sponsorship agencies - every worker, volunteer and board member is required to undertake a police check for working with children. Key staff members are trained in spotting suspicious behaviour and all letters to sponsored children are screened for suspicious or inappropriate language. A child protection officer is on hand at all times to provide training and investigate any suspicious cases, and if necessary sponsorships are cancelled or not approved. All sponsors that wish to visit their sponsor child must undergo a police check before travel is approved, and they are always accompanied and supervised by a staff member.

But it's not just about what's happening here in Australia. An important task is teaching communities in developing countries how to recognise and respond to potential threats so they can be on the front line of protecting their own children.

At Plan International Australia, we have taken a further step. An unfortunate reality of child predators is that they often have preferences for the type of children they wish to target. As a result, we have decided that we will not allow potential sponsors to browse dozens of images of children as part of the process of choosing the child that they wish to sponsor. It is vital that all child sponsorship agencies adopt similar measures to minimise the risk to children while ensuring that those who have the best intentions at heart have the opportunity to support the thousands of children who urgently need their help.

Most child sponsors are decent, sincere people who want to help children overseas. They are happy to follow procedures and understand that child sponsorship organisations must meet the same high standards now expected of schools, kindergartens and churches in Australia.

But the growing awareness of child sexual abuse in our community has taught us that we can never return to the false innocence of earlier times. We can never let our guard down. We must remain constantly vigilant.

However, as child sponsorship agencies toughen their protective measures, paedophiles sense the danger of exposure and set their sights on ''softer'' targets. It is for this reason that all organisations and companies involved in work overseas must take responsibility for the protection of children and adopt this culture of vigilance.

This is not just about aid agencies but airlines, hotels, travel agencies, mining companies - anybody who has reason to travel overseas or work offshore. The new awareness and vigilance about child sexual abuse must extend beyond our borders.

Every child, no matter where they live, deserves a safe and happy childhood and our protection.

Learn more about Plan’s child protection measures.