Sexual violence, abuse and assault, and children

The National Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Child Sexual Abuse 2021-2030 says that child sexual abuse is when someone under 18 years old is involved in sexual activities that: 

• They do not understand 
• They do not or cannot consent to 
• Are not accepted by the community 
• Are unlawful. 

Sexual abuse can be physical, verbal or emotional in nature. It can include non-contact and contact activities and can involve a range of behaviours including sexual acts, penetrative or non-penetrative, with a child or young person under the age of consent.  

If you are not sure what you or someone you know experienced was sexual abuse, you can contact 1800RESPECT for support.  

In Australia, it is important to know that any sexual activity involving a child is against the law and never consensual. Educating yourself and young people about this can reduce long term harm. Child sexual abuse often occurs when someone uses their relationship or imbalance of power to exploit a child into sexual activities. The young person may feel as though they are consenting or are an active participant, but it is never consensual with a young person.  

Sexual violence against children and young people is never okay. If you want to learn more about what sexual violence is, visit this webpage. 

Often, the person who commits sexual abuse against a child is someone the child knows. This could be family members, friends, or even other children and teenagers.  

The effect on children and young people 

Being sexually abused can hurt a child or young person both now and later in life.  

It can make them feel bad, change how they develop, how they feel about themselves, and how they get along with others, including friends and family.  

It might also make school harder for them or affect their work in the future. 

It is important for adults to know about these things so they can help keep children and young people safe. Watch for signs that something might be wrong and support the child or young person to get the help they need if something happens. 

• 1800RESPECT supports people in Australia who have experienced, or are supporting someone who has experienced, sexual violence by providing counselling, information and referrals to relevant services. If you are a child and need support, see the resources for children at the end of this webpage. Visit our Contacting 1800RESPECT FAQs page for more information.  

• If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, abuse or assault, you can contact 1800RESPECT via call 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, online chat or video call.   

• Lots of people who experience child sexual abuse do not talk about it until they are grown up, and some never tell anyone. 

• Younger children may be more likely to disclose sexual abuse to parents, particularly their mothers. Young people may be more likely to disclose to their friends than to adults. 

• It is hard for children and young people to talk about abuse because they might not have the right words, they might worry about upsetting their parents, or they might not trust adults to help them. 

• You can report child sexual abuse no matter how long ago it occurred.  
• You can start by contacting child protection in your relevant state or territory 
• You can also contact your local Police which has Sexual Offences and Child-abuse Investigations Teams 
• Once the child or young person is safe, you can take actions to help them deal with the abuse. This can include helping them to remove images off the internet. 
  • If the young person is under 18 years old, they can use takeitdown, a free online tool that prevents images or videos being uploaded online (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Yubo, OnlyFans and Pornhub) 
  • If the young person is 18 or over, they can use StopNCII, another free online tool to prevent images and videos being uploaded (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Bumble, OnlyFans and Reddit) 
  • These tools provide a secure way to prevent sexual images or videos being uploaded and shared. 
• If you need to report a crime contact your local police on 131 444 or call Crimestoppers  on 1800 333 000. In an emergency, call Triple Zero (000). 
• To report online child sexual abuse, including child sexual abuse material, please contact the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation using the Report Abuse button. 
• You can also report illegal content, including online child sexual exploitation and abuse material, to the eSafety Commissioner. 
• Protecting Australia’s children is everyone’s business. If you suspect a child or young person is at risk of harm, abuse or neglect you can contact your relevant state or territory child protection agency. Visit the National Office for Child Safety for state and territory agencies.  

• All states and territories have laws requiring certain workers and professionals to report if they suspect child abuse. In the Northern Territory, everyone over the age of 18 is required to report suspected child abuse.  
• You can speak to your workplace or seek legal advice to understand your obligations.  
• Visit the 1800RESPECT Mandatory Reporting webpage for more information. 

• Online child sexual exploitation is when adults use the internet to harm children. It can involve things like coercing or manipulating children, showing them inappropriate images, or pressuring them into sexual acts. 
• This could include: 
  • Adults talking to children about sexual things online 
  • Adults sending naked pictures or videos to children or showing themselves naked on live video 
  • Asking children to look at sexual pictures or videos 
  • Asking children to do sexual things, show themselves naked, or share sexual pictures 
  • Taking or sharing indecent pictures of children, this includes sharing of child sexual abuse material and can involve live streaming and deepfake material. 
• If you see someone acting inappropriately towards children online, or if you suspect someone is using technology to groom, abuse a child or share sexual material, report it to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation. 
• The eSafety Commissioner has information and resources for children, young people, parents, educators, and more to help them stay safe online. 

Grooming 

• Grooming is when someone builds a relationship with a child in order to sexually abuse them. This can happen in person or online. Grooming might make a child feel like they have a special bond with the person hurting them or make them confused about their relationship. They might blame themselves for the abuse, be afraid to tell anyone, or worry that speaking up will hurt their family or pets. 

Sextortion 

• Sextortion is when someone coerces or manipulates you into sending them sexual pictures or videos online, and then threatens to share them unless you do what they want. 
• Sometimes, people try to take sexual pictures of young people without them knowing, especially when they're on live video. This is called 'capping'. 
• In Australia, there's a trend where mostly teenage boys are being targeted by offenders who threaten to share their sexual images unless they pay up. 
• If this happens to a child or a young person, explain to them they will not get in trouble with the police. You can stop it. Go to the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation website to learn more. 

Consent 

• If you talk to children and young people about consent in a way that fits their age, they are more likely to have healthy, respectful, safe and enjoyable sexual experiences when they’re ready for them.  
• Young people may have access to pornography and learn unrealistic portrayals of healthy, respectful and safe sexual experiences. It undermines the importance of consent and respect and often shows violent, degrading behaviours and abuse. This may lead to damaging ideas of what a healthy intimate relationship looks like, in a young person’s mind.  
• You can start teaching younger children about consent early, even before they understand anything about sex. It is about them learning to set their own personal boundaries while respecting other people’s. 
• Visit raisingchildren.net.au for information about how to talk about consent with children and young people.   

Here are some dedicated services for children and young people who may need support:  

• eSafety Kids 
• Kids Helpline 
• ReachOut Australia 

General Resources: 

• Home - Australian Childhood Foundation 
• Berry Street - believing in children, young people, families and their future 
• AIHW Child Sexual abuse 
• Bravehearts  
• raisingchildren.net.au 
• National Office for Child Safety 
• eSafety Commissioner 
• Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation 
• Alannah & Madeline Foundation 
• For sexual violence support services in your area, visit the 1800RESPECT Service Directory.  

* Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, accessed 16 February 2024