Bravehearts: break silence on child sexual assault, wear white tomorrow

Australians declare: 'IT'S ALL WHITE TO SAY NO' to child sexual assault

FOR WHITE BALLOON DAY, TUES 8^TH SEPT

-         Aussies encouraged to wear white on White Balloon Day -

7th September 2009: Bravehearts is calling on all Australians to wear white and 'break the silence' on child sexual assault for White Balloon Day on Tuesday 8^th September (tomorrow), during Child Protection Week (7^th to 13^th September).

Bravehearts, Australia's leading child protection advocacy group and the only charity specifically and holistically dedicated to child sexual assault in Australia, holds its annual national awareness and fundraising campaign, 'White Balloon Day' during Child Protection Week to increase awareness about child sexual assault and to highlight the need for attitudinal change in this area.  This supports the significant education, prevention and early intervention programs run by Bravehearts.

White Balloon Day will be launched at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday 7^th September by The Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, The Hon. MP Jenny Macklin, The Hon. MP Bronwyn Bishop and Bravehearts Founder and Executive Director Ms Hetty Johnston.   

Alarming disclosure statistics show that one in five Australian children is sexually assaulted before they turn eighteen¹.  Last year, 55,000 children around Australia were substantiated to have been abused; these were the children coming to the attention of child protection services. Knowing that most victims will not disclose until adulthood and more than half will never disclose, real figures are estimated to be five times this level.

 

White Balloon Day is fast becoming the signature event of Child Protection Week and its purpose is to protect children from sexual assault (through the Bravehearts education and counselling programs). An often taboo and difficult subject to discuss, White Balloon Day sends a positive message of support to victims of child sexual assault, encouraging them to 'break the silence' and speak out to protect themselves and others from potential future harm. .

 

How can Australians participate in White Balloon Day?

 

The 'White Balloon' was adopted by Bravehearts as a symbol of support for survivors of child sexual abuse.  Tuesday the 8th of September 2009 marks the 13^th anniversary of the event in Australia, the slogan being "Child Sexual Assault: It's all WHITE to say NO". Bravehearts encourages all Australians to purchase an official white balloon, or white balloon day enviro-bag from any Terry White Chemist and to wear white, the colour symbolising a child's innocence – to show support for victims, help shift attitudes and break down the stigma and silence associated with child sexual assault.

 

Ms Johnston said, "Child sexual assault can happen to anybody. As a parent of a child sexual assault survivor, I have witnessed first-hand the trauma a child victim faces from this devastating crime.  White Balloon Day is about breaking the silence on child sexual assault. Silence around child sexual assault is the worst enemy of children, and White Balloon Day is an opportunity for the community to come together, find a collective voice, show support for victims and their families, and say: 'we will not tolerate our children being harmed in this way'."  

 

"We are delighted that so many Australians and successive Governments support Bravehearts' groundbreaking work in this area, and that they have joined us to help spread the word about this very important campaign," Ms Johnston said.

 

"All children deserve the best chance at a happy childhood and White Balloon Day helps many children achieve this," said Johnston. "We can, as a community, make a difference in this area through action and education.  White Balloon Day is forging a movement for change in community attitude towards child sexual assault. Changing awareness is changing behaviour, and this helps to protect Australian children."

 

White Balloon Day works.  In 1999, the White Balloon Day campaign resulted in a 514% increase in disclosures of child sexual assault to Queensland Police Headquarters alone.

 

"With official White Balloon Day events confirmed around Australia, 2009 is the year for bringing awareness of child sexual assault home to a much larger audience of children, parents, Government and communities.  We can all be Bravehearts – by supporting this cause.  I call upon all Australians to help protect

our children by supporting White Balloon Day; and to help make Australia the safest place in the world to raise a child," Ms Johnston concluded.

White Balloon Day 2009 supporters include The Nine Network, Terry White Chemists, Google Australia, MySpace Australia, Bendigo Bank and Dymocks – who are all coming together to help get Australians get involved.

 

YOU CAN HELP – A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY

 

Ø      $10.00 donation = preventative education for one child in a school or day care centre

 

Ø      $25.00 donation = a crisis telephone call with a qualified Bravehearts counsellor

 

Ø      $50.00 donation = a one-on-one Bravehearts counselling session for a child in crisis

 

Ø      Order a Ditto's Keep Safe Adventure DVD for $19.95 + postage

 

 

For more information and details on where to purchase official white balloons:

 

White Balloon Day                            http://www.whiteballoonday.com.au

Bravehearts You Tube Channel       http://www.youtube.com/bravehearts

Bravehearts MySpace Channel      http://www.myspace.com/braveheartsaustralia

 

¹ Australian Institute of Criminology 1993, Second Conference on Violence. Based on ABS Population Data from June 2008, one in five children under the age of eighteen years represents almost 1,000,000 children. 

Media Contact:

Amanda McGregor ph: 02 9492 1004/ m: 0411 222 311 / amanda@launchgroup.com.au

 

About Bravehearts White Balloon Day: Bravehearts is Australia's leading child protection advocacy group.  Founded by Hetty Johnston in 1997, and based in Queensland, 2009 marks the 13^th Anniversary of 'White Balloon Day'.   Bravehearts is the only Australian children's charity holistically dedicated to the issue of child sexual assault, and has evolved into an organisation whose purpose is to provide therapeutic support and advocacy services to survivors of child sexual assault. Bravehearts is forging a movement for change in how child sexual assault is dealt with by the criminal justice sector, government institutions, churches and the community at large.

Bravehearts currently provides counselling services to hundreds of children a year (with a long waiting list due to limited funds) at a cost of nearly half a million dollars per annum. As well as supporting survivors of child sexual assault, Bravehearts is unique in that they also focus on prevention (through their highly acclaimed children's education campaign) and early intervention, as well as healing and activism. If you have any questions about child sexual abuse, or to contact Bravehearts, call their toll free number: 1800 114 474

 

About the Bravehearts Education Campaign: Ditto's Keep Safe Adventure

Research has found that one of the greatest tools for reducing child sexual assault is children's ability to recognise unsafe feelings and inappropriate actions towards them. Bravehearts have created an interactive CD-Rom 'Ditto's Keep Safe Adventure' which is used as an educational tool at schools and in homes across Australia. The CD-Rom has been expanded into a live, interactive, fun show that is presented in schools to over 20,000 children between the ages of 4 and 8 each year.  More than 63,000 children around Australia have now seen the education program.

Sally Robertson
Account Director
Launch management group

p:  + 61 2 9492 1089       e:  sally@launchgroup.com.au

m: + 61 400 927 003       a: 169 Blues Point Rd, North Sydney NSW 2060          

w: launchgroup.com.au